3. _Consideration_ for those with whom we live in the family is the
chief form which affection takes. Each member has to remember, not his
own comfort and wants, but the comfort and wants of those with whom he
dwells. His welfare as an individual he must subordinate to the
welfare of the household. There are various forms which want of
consideration takes, and all of them are detestable. (_a_) Tyranny,
where the strong member of a family insists on the service of those
weaker than himself. (_b_) Greed, where one demands a larger share of
comfort, food, or attention than that which falls to the others. (_c_)
Indolence, where one refuses to take his proper part in the maintenance
of the family, spending his wages, perhaps, on his own pleasures, and
yet expecting to be provided for by the labor of the rest. (_d_)
Discourtesy, where, by his language and manners, he makes the others
unhappy, and, perhaps, by his outbursts of temper fills the whole house
with sadness. (_e_) Obstinacy, which will have its own way, whether
the way be good or not. All these forms of selfishness are violations
of the true law of family life, and render that life impossible. In
the family, more than in any other sphere, everyone should bear the
burdens of others. Everyone should seek, not his own, but another's
welfare, and the weak and feeble should receive the attention of all.
4. _Pleasantness_ should be the disposition which we should specially
cultivate at home. If we have to encounter things that annoy and
perhaps irritate us in the outer world, we should seek to leave the
irritation and annoyance behind when we cross the threshold of our
dwelling. Into it the roughness and bluster of the world should never
be permitted to come. It should be the place of "sweetness and light,"
and every member may do something to make it so. It is a bad sign when
a young man never cares to spend his evenings at home--when he prefers
the company of others to the society of his family, and seeks his
amusement wholly beyond its circle. There is something wrong when this
is the case. "I beseech you," said one addressing youth, "not to turn
home into a restaurant and a sleeping bunk, spending all your leisure
somewhere else, and going home only when all other places are shut up."
A young man, it is admitted, may find his home uninviting through
causes for which he has not himself to blame. Still, even then he may
do much to change its character, and by his pleasant and cheerful
bearing may bring into it sunshine brighter than the sunshine outside.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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