"The majority of these ill-disciplined ones go through life at cross-purposes with the world, making a failure where they should have succeeded. They grow to feel that the world owes them a grudge because it does not flatter and caress them, and they take revenge by holding a grudge against the world and bidding it defiance. Circumstances sometimes oblige them to affect a humility they do not feel; but it does not fit them with a natural grace, and their true characters are sure to be exposed sooner or later. 4T 202.1"
"Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."
The EGW passage illustrates the principle of reaping what you sow, as described in Galatians 6:7. The ill-disciplined children 'sow' bad behavior and 'reap' failure and resentment.
"If such persons have families of their own, they become arbitrary rulers at home and display there the selfish and unreasonable disposition they are forced to partially conceal from the outside world. Their dependents feel to the utmost all the faults of their early training. Why will parents educate their children in such a manner that they will be at war with those who are brought in contact with them? 4T 202.2"
"The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame."
The EGW passage discusses the negative consequences of unchecked behavior and lack of discipline in children, which directly reflects the principle in Proverbs 29:15 about the importance of correction and the shame a child brings when left to themselves.
"Their religious experience is molded by the education received in childhood. The sad trials, which prove so dangerous to the prosperity of a church, and which cause the unbelieving to stumble and turn away with doubt and dissatisfaction, usually arise from an unsubdued and rebellious spirit, the offspring of parental indulgence in early youth. How many lives are wrecked, how many crimes are committed, under the influence of a quick- rising passion that might have been checked in childhood, when the mind was impressible, when the heart was easily influenced for right, and was subject to a fond mother's will. Inefficient training of children lies at the foundation of a vast amount of moral wretchedness. 4T 202.3"
"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."
The EGW passage emphasizes the lasting impact of early childhood training on religious experience and moral development, echoing the principle of Proverbs 22:6 about training a child in the right way.
"Children who are allowed to have their own way are not happy. The unsubdued heart has not within itself the elements of rest and contentment. The mind and heart must be disciplined and brought under proper restraint in order for the character to harmonize with the wise laws that govern our being. Restlessness and discontent are the fruits of indulgence and selfishness. The soil of the heart, like that of a garden, will produce weeds and brambles unless the seeds of precious flowers are planted there and receive care and cultivation. As in visible nature, so is it with the human soul. 4T 202.4"
"The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame."
The EGW passage discusses the importance of discipline and restraint for children to be happy and content, which aligns with the principle in Proverbs 29:15 about the need for correction and the consequences of a child being left to themselves.
"But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way."
The EGW passage uses the analogy of a garden needing cultivation to avoid weeds, which parallels the parable of the wheat and tares in Matthew 13:25, where an enemy sows weeds among the wheat. Both passages illustrate the need for active effort to cultivate good and prevent the growth of evil.