"I will not teach my child anything about religion yet," remarked a man walking with S. T. Coleridge. "I will let him grow up; and when he is old enough to judge, he can see and choose for himself." They stopped at Coleridge's garden plot. "I thought I wanted to set out [252] strawberry slips here this spring," said Coleridge, standing there, thoughtfully; "but you have given me a new idea. I will wait till August, and then I will see whether this garden really prefers strawberry plants or whether it would rather have weeds in it." My brother, the weeds will grow in your child's heart unbidden. "Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child," says Solomon. It is never to soon to begin to root them out, and to plant good seeds instead, and to cultivate the good growth. When the weeds get the start, it is often too late to do anything. Clean and sow early. And the good seed is the word of God. (Deut. 6:7.)

[TAG 252-253]