" Love is weak, and too often pampers and flatters. It thinks
that loyalty requires it to make life easy as possible for the beloved
one.
Too often our friendship is most short-sighted in this regard, and most
hurtful to those we fervently desire to aid. We should never indulge
or encourage weakness in others when we can in any way stimulate it
into strength. We should never do anything for another which we can
inspire him to do for himself. Much parental affection errs at this
point. Life is made too easy for children. They are sheltered when it
were better if they faced the storm. They are saved from toil and
exertion, when toil and exertion are God's ordained means of grace for
them, of which the parents rob them in their over-tenderness. There
are children who are wronged by the cruelty and inhumanity of parents,
and whose cries to heaven make the throne of the Eternal rock and sway;
but there are children, also, who are wronged of much that is noblest
and best in their inheritance by the over-kindness of parents.
In every warm friendship, too, there is strong temptation to make the
same mistake. We have to be ever on our guard against over-helping.
Our aim should always be to inspire in our friend new energy, to
develop in him the noblest strength, to bring out his best manhood.
Over-helping defeats these offices of friendship.
There is one particular point at which a special word of caution may
well be spoken.
Pages:
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124