Building a Godly Home, Volume 3: A Holy Vision for Raising Children by William Gouge

Author:William Gouge [Gouge, William]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Family & Marriage, Children, Puritans
ISBN: 9781601782502
Publisher: Reformation Heritage Books
Published: 2014-09-22T04:00:00+00:00

The Preposterous Course of Covetous and Unjust Parents for Their Children

Against this is the course of such parents who aim to provide well for their children by unrighteous means. Many do not only labor and toil with too much worry and too little faith to scrape together great masses of money, or large tracts of land, or other property for their children, neglecting the duties of piety and mercy, but also by unjust and wrongful courses cheat others to make their children rich. So common is this wrong course of providing for children, that from it has arisen this cursed proverb, “Happy are those children whose parents go to the devil.” For what other thing can it mean but this, that they who do not fear God, nor take care for their own salvation, will have greatest concern for the outward estate of their children, and be most careful to make them great and rich in this world? Note how many ways they show their great folly:

1. They prefer the outward estate of their children before the eternal salvation of their own souls, even before God Himself.

2. They place the happiness of their children in the goods of this world, of which nothing is more futile (Prov. 23:5).

3. They make themselves slaves to their children, and so demean themselves below that dignity which belongs to them by reason of God’s image on them.

4. They with much labor, care, grief, and fear are long gathering that which their children most wildly and wastefully will lavish out in a short time.

5. They make themselves servants to Satan and seek by him to be made rich, whereas indeed “the blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich” (Prov. 10:22). Thus they take a wrong course to get wealth. If it is said that many are thus made rich, I answer, that as God gave a king to Israel (Hos. 13:11), so He gives wealth to them in wrath, and in wrath He will take it away.

6. They bring God’s curse into their house, and leave it to their children, so that He reserves these riches for the harm of their owners.

Therefore, do not let care for children draw you into any covetous or unjust courses, but know that He who made your son made you also, and He who granted you means of nourishment, will also grant your children sufficient provision.4

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