"Parental Responsibility. —Parents are in a great degree responsible for the mould given to the characters of their children. They should aim at symmetry and proportion. There are few well-balanced minds, because parents are wickedly negligent of their duty to stimulate weak traits and repress wrong ones. They do not remember that they are under the most solemn obligation to watch the tendencies of each child; that it is their duty to train their children to right habits and right ways of thinking. CE 234.1"
"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."
This is a clear and direct application of Proverbs 22:6. EGW directly addresses parental responsibility in training children, echoing the proverb's sentiment.
"And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord."
Both passages address parental responsibility in raising children. Ephesians 6:4 warns against provoking children and encourages nurture and admonition, which aligns with EGW's emphasis on shaping children's characters through training and right habits.
"And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up."
Both passages emphasize the importance of diligently teaching children. Deuteronomy 6:7 instructs parents to teach their children constantly, which aligns with EGW's call for parents to be responsible for shaping their children's characters and habits.
"Sometimes parents wait for the Lord to do the very work that he has given them to do. Instead of restraining and controlling their children as they should, they pet and indulge them, and gratify their whims and desires. When these children go out from their early homes, it is with characters deformed by selfishness, with ungoverned appetites, with strong self-will; they are destitute of courtesy or respect for their parents, and do not love religious truth or the worship of God. They have grown up with traits that are a life-long curse to themselves and to others. Home is made anything but happy if the evil weeds of dissension, selfishness, envy, passion, and sullen stubbornness are left to flourish in the neglected garden of the soul. CE 234.2"
"The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame."
The EGW passage directly echoes the principle of Proverbs 29:15, emphasizing the negative consequences of neglecting parental discipline and control. The proverb warns of a child bringing shame to their mother if left to themselves, while EGW elaborates on the character flaws and negative outcomes that result from such neglect.
"He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes."
The EGW passage aligns with the principle of Proverbs 13:24, which contrasts sparing the rod with loving and chastening a child. EGW's emphasis on restraining and controlling children, rather than indulging them, directly reflects the wisdom of Proverbs 13:24.