Exodus 18

The Children's “Little Bit”

So shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear the burden with thee. Exodus 18:22.

One day after Moses had brought the children of Israel into the wilderness of Sinai a visitor arrived to see him. We all like to have friends coming to stay with us especially if they are nice and I think Moses must have been very glad to see this friend, for he went to meet him when he saw him coming and gave him a warm welcome.

The visitor was his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. After they had shaken hands and kissed each other as men do in the East when they meet and had asked each other how they were, they began to talk of all they had done since they last met. Of course Moses told Jethro all the wonderful things that God had done for the children of Israel how He had brought them out of the land of Egypt and through the Red Sea and had delivered them out of the hand of Pharaoh.

The next day Moses held a sort of law court. All those who had disagreements came to him to have them settled. Perhaps an Israelite would say to him: “That man there dug a pit and left it open. My donkey fell into it and broke his legs, and I had to kill the animal. Make him pay me damages!” Then the other man would reply: “Well, your donkey had no business wandering about in my property. I didn't invite him there! If he chose to break his legs, it's no concern of mine, and I won't pay a nickle for him.” And so on it would go from early morning till late at night.

Now it is one of the most exhausting things to settle other people's quarrels, and by evening Moses was utterly worn out. Of course, he couldn't judge all the people at once, so some of them had to wait till the end of the day, and they got tired and disagreeable.

Jethro had been watching what was going on, and he was a sensible man; so he suggested to Moses a better way of doing things. He said, “My dear Moses, this will never do! You are just wearing yourself out, and you can't possibly do everything well when you attempt such a lot. Besides, you are tiring the people by keeping them standing about here all day long. If God wills it, choose out several good, capable, honest men to settle the small matters. They can bring the big matters to you so that you can judge them. They will help you to bear your burden, and you will be able to get through the day's work.”

You will be glad to hear that Moses took Jethro's good advice, and that the plan was a great success.

Now we can't all be like Moses, but we can all be like his assistants. We may not be able to help in the big ways, but we can help in the small ones.

1. We can help by our deeds. We can help with chores around the house and we can do what mother and father ask. We can notice not to slam the door when mother has a headache or stomp down the stairs or make too much noise. We can avoid bursting noisily into the nursery when baby is asleep. These are all small things perhaps, but the doing or not doing of them makes a tremendous difference to the happiness of a household.

2. We can help by our words. We can speak a friendly word to a new pupil at school, even though we are feeling a bit shy. We can stick up for our friends when somebody is talking badly about them. We can give the “soft answer” that “turneth away wrath” when we are tempted to reply with “the grievous words” that “stir up anger.”

3. And we can help with our thoughts. “ How can we do that?” you ask. “Thoughts can't make much difference.” Oh, but they can!

We can cherish kind thoughts about people. We can look out for the best in them, not the worst, and in so doing we shall help to make them better. We can be loving and sympathetic, and in this way we can help others to bear their troubles.

A tiny girl of five saw her mother sitting before the fire with her eyes closed. At first she thought she was dead, and she was very frightened. “Oh, Mommy, are you dead?” she asked. Mommy replied that she wasn't dead, but had a very bad headache. The little girl left her toys, and ran to the window. She held her tiny hands up against the cold pane until they were quite, quite cold. Then she came and laid them on her mother's brow. This she did over and over again until in answer to her question “Is your head better now, Mommy?” Mommy replied, “Oh yes; much better, thank you.” But it wasn't the little cold hands that had cured the pain. It was the loving thought that had helped to take away the worry that had caused the headache.

Would you like another story? This time it shall be a story about a boy. It is a true story, and the incident happened in the city of Dundee long ago.

One bitter Sunday morning in January, a gentleman was going to an early meeting. On his way he passed a certain baker's shop in rather a poor part of the city. This baker was a kind man, and on Sunday morning he gave away to the poor children of the district the stale bread that was left over on Saturday night.

When the gentleman passed along the children were waiting outside the shop till it should open. Among them he saw some boys and girls belonging to his Sunday school class. He noticed that one small boy usually a ring-leader in all sorts of mischief wore no coat. A bitter north-east wind was blowing, and the little fellow, looking very cold and blue, was turning somersaults to keep himself warm.

The gentleman asked Johnnie where his coat was, but received no reply. He repeated the question, but the only answer was another somersault. Then he asked a small girl “Where is Johnnie's coat?” She jerked her thumb towards the baker's doorstep, where a little cripple girl was comfortably sleeping “That's what little Jeanie's sitting on!” she said.

He was only a little ragged street boy, but he was one of the world's most perfect gentlemen. For, he had learned the great truth that Jesus taught “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”