Reverence
Another precious grace that should be carefully cherished is reverence. True reverence for God is inspired by a sense of His infinite greatness and a realization of His presence. The heart of every child should be deeply impressed with this sense of the Unseen. The child should be taught to regard the hour and place of prayer and the services of public worship as sacred, because God is there. As reverence is manifested in attitude and demeanor, the feeling that inspires it will be deepened.TEd 149.2
Young and old should study, ponder, and often repeat those words of Holy Writ that show how the place marked by God’s special presence should be regarded. “Take your sandals off your feet,” He commanded Moses at the burning bush, “for the place where you stand is holy ground.” Exodus 3:5.TEd 149.3
Jacob, after seeing the vision of the angels, exclaimed, “The Lord is in this place; and I did not know it. ... This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!” Genesis 28:16, 17.TEd 149.4
“The Lord is in His holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before Him.” Habakkuk 2:20.TEd 149.5
“The Lord is the great God, And the great King above all gods. ...
Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.”
Psalm 95:3-6.TEd 149.6
Reverence should be shown also for the name of God. Never should that name be spoken lightly or thoughtlessly. Even in prayer its frequent or needless repetition should be avoided. “Holy and awesome is His name.” Psalm 111:9. Angels, as they speak it, veil their faces. With what reverence should we who are fallen and sinful take it on our lips!TEd 150.1
We should reverence God’s Word. For the printed volume we should show respect, never putting it to common uses, or handling it carelessly. And never should Scripture be quoted in a jest, or paraphrased to point a witty saying. “Every word of God is pure”; “like silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.” Proverbs 30:5; Psalm 12:6.TEd 150.2
Above all, children should be taught that true reverence is shown by obedience. God has commanded nothing that is unessential, and there is no other way of manifesting reverence so pleasing to Him as obedience to His Word.TEd 150.3
Reverence should be shown for God’s representatives—for ministers, teachers, and parents who are called to speak and act in His stead. He is honored in the respect shown to them. And God has especially commanded that tender respect be shown toward the aged. He says, “The silver-haired head is a crown of glory, if it is found in the way of righteousness.” Proverbs 16:31. It tells of battles fought and victories gained, of burdens borne and temptations resisted. It tells of weary feet nearing their rest, of places soon to be vacant. Help the children to think of this, and they will smooth the path of the aged by their courtesy and respect, and will bring grace and beauty into their young lives as they heed the command to “rise before the aged, and defer to the old.” Leviticus 19:32, NRSV.TEd 150.4
Fathers and mothers and teachers need to appreciate more fully the responsibility and honor that God has placed on them, in making them, to the child, the representatives of Himself. The character revealed in the contact of daily life will interpret to the child, for good or evil, those words of God:TEd 150.5
“As a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear Him.” Psalm 103:13. “As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you.” Isaiah 6:13.TEd 150.6
Fortunate is the child in whom such words as these awaken love and gratitude and trust; the child to whom the tenderness and justice and longsuffering of father and mother and teacher interpret the love and justice and longsuffering of God; the child who by trust and submission and reverence toward his earthly protectors learns to trust and obey and reverence his God. Adults who impart to children or students such a gift have endowed them with a treasure more precious than the wealth of all the ages—a treasure as enduring as eternity.TEd 151.1