I cannot find an instance in the life of Christ where He devoted time to play and amusement. He was the great educator for the present and the future life, yet I have not been able to find one instance where He taught the disciples to engage in amusement in order to gain physical exercise. The world’s Redeemer gives to every man his work and bids him, “Occupy till I come.” Luke 19:13. In doing this the heart warms to the enterprise. All the powers of the being are enlisted in the effort to obey. We have a high and holy calling. Teachers and students are to be stewards of the grace of Christ, and they are always to be earnest. (CT 309.1) MC VC

Industrial Work VC

In establishing our schools out of the cities, we shall give the students an opportunity to train the muscles to work as well as the brain to think. Students should be taught how to plant, how to gather the harvest, how to build, how to become acceptable missionary workers in practical lines. By their knowledge of useful industries they will often be enabled to break down prejudice; often they will be able to make themselves so useful that the truth will be recommended by the knowledge they possess. (CT 309.2) MC VC

In our school in Australia we educated the youth along these lines, showing them that in order to have an education that is complete, they must divide their time between the gaining of book knowledge and the securing of a knowledge of practical work. Part of each day was spent in manual labor. Thus the students learned how to clear the land, to cultivate the soil, and to build houses; and these lines of work were largely carried on in time that would otherwise have been spent in playing games and seeking for amusement. The Lord blessed the students who devoted their hours to learning lessons of usefulness. To the managers and teachers of that school I was instructed to say: (CT 310.1) MC VC

“Various industries should be carried on in our schools. The industrial instruction given should include the keeping of accounts, carpentry, and all that is comprehended in farming. Preparation should be made for the teaching of blacksmithing, painting, shoemaking, and for cooking, baking, washing, mending, typewriting, and printing. Every power at our command is to be brought into this training work, that students may go forth well equipped for the duties of practical life.” (CT 310.2) MC VC

What an exhibition was this to be reported by the students to their distant friends and acquaintances! It was a witness that showed, not what God has accomplished in the school, but what Satan had accomplished. Serious is the consequence of even one such departure from the instruction that God has given concerning our schools. Once the barriers are broken down, the advance of the enemy will be marked, unless the Lord shall humble hearts and convert minds. (CT 352.1) MC VC

The effort to regain that which was lost by the proceedings of that afternoon cost the teachers much labor. They were severely tried. With the students there was seen a desire for further pleasure and less regard for the instruction of God’s word. The Lord of heaven was thus dishonored, and the indulgence of the desires of the human heart in sin and love of pleasure was the education received. (CT 352.2) MC VC

Let those who are educating the youth govern themselves according to the high and holy principles that Christ has given in His word. Let them remember that, as far as possible, they are to recover the ground that has been lost, that they may bring into our schools the spirituality that was seen in the schools of the prophets. (CT 352.3) MC VC

The Bible as Our Counselor VC

Teachers need an intimate acquaintance with the word of God. The Bible, and the Bible alone, should be their counselor. The word of God is as the leaves of the tree of life. Here is met every want of those who love its teachings and bring them into the practical life. Many of the students who come to our schools are unconverted, though they may have been baptized. They do not know what it means to be sanctified through a belief of the truth. They should be taught to search and understand the Bible, to receive its truths into the heart and carry them out in the daily life. Thus they will become strong in the Lord; for spiritual sinew and muscle are nourished by the bread of life. (CT 352.4) MC VC

The Lord desires His stewards to discharge their duties faithfully in His name and in His strength. By believing His word and acting upon its teachings, they may go on conquering and to conquer. But when men depart from the principles of righteousness, they conceive a high opinion of their own goodness and abilities, and unconsciously they exalt themselves. The Lord allows such ones to walk alone, to follow their own way. Thus He gives them opportunity to see themselves as they are and to manifest to others their weakness. He is seeking to teach them that the Lord’s way is always to be closely followed, that His word is to be taken as it reads, and that men are not to devise and plan according to their own judgment, irrespective of His counsel. (CT 353.1) MC VC

Our schools are to be as the schools of the prophets. In them the truths of the Bible are to be earnestly studied. If rightly brought before the mind and thoughtfully dwelt upon, these truths will give the students a desire for that which is infinitely higher than worldly amusement. (CT 353.2) MC VC