Crying Babies in the Study Hour
(F. T. Wright)
It happens over and over.
The believers have gathered for the Sabbath morning study periods, the opening hymns have been sung, the congregation is seated, and the teacher has commenced the presentation of a message vital to the salvation of all present. Everyone is listening with the closest attention so as not to miss a single thought when a baby in its mother's arms becomes restive and soon, despite the mother's and the father's efforts to quiet it, begins crying at the top of its surprisingly powerful and penetrating voice.

That Powerful Voice
That voice was designed to command the attention of all within hearing distance, and everyone in the meeting is ready to concede that the design is a marvelous success. In some instances, the crying of the child is so loud, noisy, insistent, and penetrating as to totally command the assembled ones' attention which is completely diverted from the speaker who, in some instances, has been obliged to close the meeting long before he had developed his theme.
In the meantime, the tape recordings are completely ruined, for they have a special capacity for picking up the voice of the child above all other sounds in the room.
Mostly, after a few minutes of futile attempts at quieting the child, one of its parents will take it outside. Usually, it immediately ceases crying. The parent nursing it is anxious to hear the study so he reenters the assembly in the very naive hope that the infant has been satisfied and will now be quiet. He has scarcely regained his seat when the baby once more makes maximum use of the awesome weapon of its voice to ensure it is again taken outside. The parent is soon forced to accept the fact that he is unable to master the problem, so remains outside till the meeting is ended.
But what about the situation when the weather outside is pouring rain, or snowing, or shaking with howling winds, and gripped in freezing temperatures? There is no option but to remain inside with the hopelessly uncontrolled child, and destroy the study. This has happened more than once.

Embarrassed and Helpless
I have been struck with the expressions of embarrassment and helplessness on the faces of the parents. Their lovely little baby is in complete control, and they have not the least idea as to what to do about the problem. The remainder of the people manifest a wonderful patience and tolerance. No one dares suggest that the baby be kept outside for fear it would drive the parents from the truth. So, everyone but the baby suffers in commendable silence.
Is this the way it must be? Do we find no solution to the problem? Must babies in arms always interrupt the presentations of living truth?
Pictures: It takes a speaker with a powerful voice to compete successfully with a crying child.
No! It need not and it must not be so. There is one way to solve the problem which is both effective and pleasing to the Lord. As can be expected, there is another way which is effective, but which does not bear the divine approval because it involves the use of compelling power.
We will briefly describe the wrong way first so that the principles of the correct way can be better understood. Success in this procedure requires the establishment and maintenance of parental authority in the child's life from the very first moments of existence. This is accomplished first by the power of prenatal influence, the parents themselves being strictly self-disciplined. After birth, order is the way of life in the home, and any failure to measure up is swiftly and severely punished.
When a baby from such a home is brought to church and threatens to cry, he is advised in a low but very firm voice that such behavior is not tolerated. If, as is usual, he fails to heed the warning and cries anyway, he is swiftly taken outside beyond the hearing of the church members, and no matter how young he might be, is severely punished. He is not permitted to cry for long, but is soon marched back into the meeting place.
Throughout the exercise, the parents convey the atmosphere that they are absolutely in command, that there is to be no disputation about this, so the child had better get it settled in his mind that he is there to obey.
The prompt return of the child to the meeting place heralds to him the futility of his seeking deliverance from the boredom of the church service by crying. All he gets for his trouble is a beating followed by his return to the very place from which he desired to escape. He might try a second time, to test the resolve of the parents, but seldom if ever again after that.
I have seen this system work most effectively, even though we cannot endorse it due to its resorting to the use of force. In the end, the method produces legalism, not righteousness.

The Better Way
There is a way of coping with this problem which is completely effective and totally acceptable. It is the procedure which establishes the authority of the parents without their resorting to the use of compelling power. Instead, the objective is accomplished by the application of the Sabbath rest principles.
This involves understanding firstly why the little ones cry as they do in the church services or study periods. In the cases of those who have not been born again, they detect that they are in an atmosphere to which their natures are at enmity, and they wish to escape from this hostile environment. So, they raise their voices in protest and are taken outside where they feel more comfortable. They are very quick to recognize the relationship between their crying and the result of being carried outside. When the problem reappears, they know the solution, and are quick to apply it. They find themselves in total command of the situation as they wield a weapon for which their parents have no answer.
Knowing what we now know through the child salvation message, there should not be a single parent among us who has unregenerate children. Every child should be born again, but unfortunately some parents are foolish virgins whose children would not have been blessed with deliverance from their sinful natures. It must be emphasized that one vital factor in the solving of this problem is that the children must be born again. When they are, while they will feel that being obliged to lie or sit quietly is physically restrictive, and requires a discipline which they feel unprepared to endure, they will be free from the hostility which they would feel in themselves if they were not born again. The elimination of this powerful factor is a very positive step in the right direction.
Some might feel that born again babies would have no problems in this regard, but it must be remembered that being born again does not free one from physical discomforts, the hesitancy to face the unknown, and the threat which strangers seem to be.
When the baby comes to church for the first time, he is confronted in a strange environment by these very things. So, he has a problem which he cannot solve himself. Then, as is perfectly proper for him to do, he announces his difficulty in the one way of which he is capable--he cries with such determination to be heard, that the attention of his parents, and, unfortunately, of all others is captured.
In a few moments, he finds himself outside in the fresh air no longer surrounded by strange, threatening forms and a confined environment. This is wonderful and he knows precisely what to do the next time the problem appears which it immediately will if the parents do nothing other than return him to the meeting room. He will again open his mouth and cry heartily leaving the frustrated parent with no recourse other than to once more take the babe outside.
It is obvious that in this situation the child, not the parents, is completely in charge. But this is not the way it should be. The child must never be in command just as we must never be in charge of our dealings with the Lord. Those who understand how they are to relate to God, will likewise know how their children are to relate to them when both the elders and the little ones are Christians.

Total Respect for Parental Guidance
The same absolute submission of the parents to God's will is to be taught to the children, who, without question are to obey their elders just as the parents are to serve the heavenly Father.
Teaching this to tiny tots is not easy, for the little ones will test the resolve and the capacity of the parents to teach them this. Thus when an infant for the first time has a problem in the church assembly, and announces this to one and all, he is really looking for the assurance that he is blessed with parents who have the needed capacity to cope with his problems.
If he senses that they are uncertain as to what to do, and are not in command of the situation, with each parental failure, he will turn more and more to himself as the problem-solver, the one in command.
Under no circumstances then are the parents to fail in this vital phase of the child's training. They must stay with each battle until the child has fully submitted to the parents' will and guidance, no matter how long it takes. If you fail to win through in a specific instance, you have lost valuable ground which must be recovered at all costs. This means that a most diligent work of preparation must be completed so that the next time the issue surfaces, the parents are more than ready for it.
There must be no provision made for failure. Do not even think in such terms. Think only of victory and success because God's grace is more than sufficient. Each parent is to say with conviction: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13.
"But when we give ourselves wholly to God and in our work follow His directions, He makes Himself responsible for its accomplishment. He would not have us conjecture as to the success of our honest endeavors. Not once should we even think of failure. We are to co-operate with Him who knows no failure." Christ's Object Lessons, 363.
So, what must the parents do in order to ensure that the problem of crying in church is properly solved?
The work should begin before the child is conceived, during the period for the preparation of the parents. The prospective father and mother must devote time during this period to developing in themselves a strong attitude of reverence; a deep respect for the sacredness of the worship area. All would do well to earnestly study the lengths to which the Israelites had to go in their approach to the holy places of the sanctuary. This would serve to acquaint us with a true picture of how irreverent we are.
As the parents continue this attitude of deep reverence for the presence of God in the meeting house, this will be conveyed to the child during the prenatal period. Thus, after it is born, the infant will sense, upon entering the meeting place, the sacred presence of Him of whom it is written that holy and reverend is His name. Psalms 111:9. He will find that he is already familiar with the sounds of singing and speaking by voices which he heard while in his mother's womb.
If this work has been well done by dedicated Christian parents, the problem of the child's crying in the church should never arise. Could you imagine the baby Jesus crying in the synagogue on the Sabbath day? Of course, we know that He never did, and it is by His behavior that the behavior of every other child is to be measured.
However, it is still possible that the problem will arise even though the Saviour's life as a babe proves that it should not. In any case, I am sure that none of the parents feel satisfied that they have done their work so well that their precious little one is fully prepared to cope with this temptation.
No one who has failed to instill reverence into their children during the family worship periods can expect to achieve it in the larger and more difficult environment of the church service. So, how is it achieved in the home?

Steps to be Taken
First of all, reverence for God must be deeply established in the parents who should literally feel that they are in the very presence of the holy angels and of Christ Himself.
Next, the father and the mother must refuse to accept anything less than perfect respect for the worship hour in the home. They must not accept noise, wriggling, inattention, or crying. People feel that this is asking the impossible of little ones, but this is not so. It is because parents expect so little that they achieve so little. I have seen normally active, healthy children from babes in arms to early teens sit through entire camp meetings--five forty-five minute studies per day over eight consecutive days--without having been spoken to once in order to settle them down. They knew what was expected of them and responded accordingly.
Next, in the home situation, if the child becomes a problem, deal with the situation immediately. Even if the child is too young to understand, say to him in a clear, quiet, firm, but gentle, loving voice words like these: "My child, we are now in God's presence and we do not behave like this before Him. This is the quiet hour. Now I see that you have a problem which we shall now deliver up to the great Problem-solver on your behalf."
Picture: Children are naturally active, it being quite a discipline for them to sit quietly through a study presentation, but it is a valuable opportunity for them to develop self-control.
Then kneel down with the little one and lay the case out before God. Give Him the problem, and you will find He has the power to solve it very nicely. If it cries again, repeat the procedure. Never give up; never let the child succeed in gaining control! If the child refuses to respond, continue praying with him till he does. It should be noted here that, if the parent fails to succeed in bringing the child to repentance, he should see whether or not his own private prayer life has been bringing himself to repentance. He cannot impart to the child what he himself does not possess. Success with the children depends on the parents' success with themselves.
When the victory is truly gained at home, there will be very little difficulty in the church. But, let none face this problem with complacency. Rather, be a step or more ahead of the possibility of the child fussing in the study hour. Be up extra early on Sabbath morning so as to have a longer than usual personal communion with God. Follow this with an unhurried family worship during which recognition is given to the possibility of the children becoming restive during the study hour. Give the problem to God in advance, and it will be well taken care of.
Then, when you come to church, if the child does cry, take it out to a place where you can be alone with God, and speak to it as mentioned above in words such as these: "My child, we are now in God's presence and we do not behave like this before Him. This is the quiet hour. Now I see that you have a problem which we shall now deliver up to the great Problem-solver on your behalf."
Then pray with the child as mentioned above after which you bring the little one back into the church once more.
It is critically important that you act with strong faith. Do not follow through these procedures in a hesitant, unsure, doubtful, I-hope-that-it-will-work attitude, for in such a case it will not.
Until the victory is gained at home and can be gained at church, those with uncontrolled children should stay at home for two reasons: Firstly, they will be entering a battleground where they will be the losers. This will weaken their parental authority and promote self-assertiveness and self-sufficiency in the child. It would be better to wait at home until success is gained there.
The second reason for keeping the child at home is that it is unfair to the other worshipers to have a howling child in their midst.
But remember that only parents who make certain that they themselves have a living personal experience and connection with heaven will see these procedures successfully working. If you have never learned reverence yourself, you can never hope to teach it to your little ones. God must be your Plan-maker before He can be theirs.
So then, let there be an end to babies crying in the study hours. There is a sure and certain solution to the problem, and all may be blessed by its application.

Christian Authority
Words take on meanings which are colored by our personal experience. For instance, the word, "cold" has a very different meaning for the dweller in Siberia than for he who spends his lifetime on the equator.
So it is with the word, "authority". We are accustomed to its being used to describe the attitudes and activities of men who organize others and dominate them. They have the power to enforce their directives and do not hesitate to do so should the one under them exhibit any tendency to rebel.
But that is the way in which sinful men in a world of iniquity maintain their authority. Parents follow this course in relation to their children, teachers to their students, police to the public, and so on.
However, it cannot be that way with the Lord or His people. "Compelling power is found only under Satan's government. The Lord's principles are not of this order. His authority rests upon goodness, mercy, and love; and the presentation of these principles is the means to be used. God's government is moral, and truth and love are to be the prevailing power." The Desire of Ages, 759.
God is the supreme authority because His knowledge and wisdom are so infinitely boundless and correct that His pronouncements and guidance are incontestable. He is the ultimate and final authority on everything. Most people do not accept that but look upon themselves as wiser and better informed than the Lord, and therefore more capable than God in making wise decisions.
Christian parents need to study until they really understand the true nature of the authority they are to maintain, and to establish it by the exercise of "... goodness, mercy, ... love, ... and truth". As the Lord exercises His benign authority over His children, so parents are to maintain authority over their little ones. The results which will arise from this, are all that could be desired. The children will be obedient, self-disciplined, loving, and respectful. It will be a happy home in which the authority of both the Lord and the parents will be fully, gratefully, and cheerfully respected.