The Forerunner Part 23

Yes, she loves them. And Mother love is so mighty a power that we all love and honor Motherhood--in spite of its obvious deficiencies. But none of these feelings; not even the deepest mother-love, is all that we should give the child.

He needs Understanding--and Honor.

He needs to be recognized as the forefront of the world--the world of to-morrow--the world we are making.

As we bear and rear him--and her!--as we guide and teach them both, so stand the Men and Women who follow us.

Of course we do the best we can for our own little ones. That goes without saying.

So does a monkey.

It is far more than that the child needs.

This Young Life, celebrated in our Christian Festival; this New Life, Better Life, Life to Come, deserves more respect.

And the first meed of honor which we owe to our Successor, is to tell him the truth!

That ought to put an end to our paltry old story of the Benign Chimney Climber.

What we are here for, all of us, is to make the world better and the people better. It is an easy and a pleasant game, if we would but give our minds to it. The whole swiftly spreading enchantment of our varied arts and industries is making a garden out of a wilderness; and even the limited and defective education we now offer to our children, makes better people than we used to have.

But what we have done for them is nothing to what we may do! The best brains in the world should proudly serve the child. We should consider him as a nation does its crown Prince--not a mere pet and darling--but a coming Ruler.

Christmas will have a rejuvenation when it is recognized in this sense as the Child's Festival. Every beautiful myth of the past remains to decorate it; every beautiful truth to vivify it. It should be a domestic, religious, civic, national and international festival.

It should mean Joy--and Hope--and Love; and teach them.

And Gifts?

Yes, gifts. There could be no more appropriate testimony to Joy and Hope and Love than these visible fruits. Gifts to the happy child to make him happier. Gifts _from_ the happy child--and the new joy of giving. Gifts everywhere--from each to each--as showing the rich overflow of Love and joy.

And more than that--Gifts from Each to All! There is a custom worth initiating! Not charity nor anything of that sort. Not the mere visiting of the sick and the prisoner. But a yearly practice of giving something to the Community--to show you love it!

And suppose you don't?

If you had been properly taught as a child you would. If you teach our children properly they will. Should we not gratefully recognize the care and service that gives as everything we have? It is the most glaring lesson in life--this universal help of each to all.

Every day of our lives we are served and guarded and generally blessed by--the Community.

It is perfectly easy to teach this to a child. Everything that he sees about him--that is not "a natural object," some of us dead or alive have made. The acc.u.mulated services of all the people gone have given us the world as it is; those now here keep it up for us; and we--and our children may build it better.

Not love the people who have given you the world? How ungrateful!

At which you will remark disgustedly, "Given! Not much? They were paid for it."

That is our mistake.

In the first place they never were paid for it--and are not now--not by a long way. And further--if we had outgrown this temporary custom of paying for this--we should still have to serve each other--to live.

If we were all multi-millionaires--and so perfectly "independent"--why we'd have to have some millionaire sailors and house-builders and blacksmiths--that's all. Their money would build no houses and sail no ships.

Service is what counts--giving--the outpouring of strength and good-will.

That is what Christmas means. It is the Festival of Life. Love and Service--Loving and Giving--for the Coming Race.

PERSONAL PROBLEMS

We have one, a mere sample, left over from last time.

Query: "My wife is spending more of my income on dress than I can afford. How can I stop her? G.

Answer: G. "By letting her earn her own income and spend it as she pleases."

G. would never be content with that. G. would get back at us and say--

Query: "How can a woman do her duty as a mother and earn her own living?"

Answer: "If your wife was doing her duty as a mother she wouldn't be spending so much money on dress!"

Answer further: Motherhood is "piecework"--it is not done by the hour.

The value of a mother to her children is not to be measured by quant.i.ty, but by quality. If a mother understood any business thoroughly, she would begin to understand her mother-work better than she does now.

Query: "But how can a mother leave her children and go to work?"

Answer: "She does not have to. She could be a milliner or dressmaker at home just as well as a cook."

But these problems are general rather than personal. Here is a personal one.

Query: "I am about thirty--a woman. I wish very much to be married.

All the nice men in our town have left it--or are married. There are thirty or forty more unmarried women than men. What shall I do? X."