Teach The Children Well

Teach them to your children and speak of them as you sit in your house, as you walk along the road, as you lie down, and as you get up. 

Deuteronomy 11:19 

Guess whose job it is to teach children?  Who gets to teach them respect for others?  Who is supposed to teach them about love for others?  Who is the teacher of conflict resolution to children?  Are you sitting down?  WE ARE!!!!  

I can hear it now: "I don't have kids!"  "My children are grown with children of their own." "Those aren't MY children."

I was in an electronics store recently to purchase a charger for my phone when I noticed a child about the age of 8 or 9 demanding that his father buy him a new iPad.  The father told his son that the iPad he already had was only 6 months old, to which the child screeched that this new iPad did more than his "old" one and Dad better buy it for him.  Sadly, I watched this defeated man use four credit cards to find enough credit to purchase this item his child had demanded. 

Guess what?  God didn't ask whose child they are because WE are ALL God's children!  Therefore, those who are older should teach those who are younger.  And guess what is the best teaching method for most children?  They follow the example of others!  Therefore, WE are ALL to teach children about respect for others; WE are ALL to teach children about love for others; WE are ALL to teach children about getting along with each other; WE are ALL to teach children about conflict resolution....WE are ALL to teach children!

Why?  Because if WE refuse to teach children, guess who will?  Want a hint? Turn on the television where children are in charge and parents are idiots with an open wallet. 

"What Happened Was..."

The Lord hates dishonest scales,
    but he is pleased with honest weights.

Proverbs 11:1

One of my favorite television programs is "Homicide Hunter, Lt. Joe Kenda."  The reason I enjoy it so much is because he has a way of stating things that makes sense to me.  For example, when he is conducting an interrogation and the suspect lies, the response from Lt. Kenda is "Really? Well My My My."  I told my bride that I would HATE to be the one who came to date his daughter.

But let's think about this for a moment.  How honest are you?  Are you one to skew the story to limit your culpability or are you willing to give, in the immortal words of Jack Webb as Sgt. Joe Friday, "Just the facts."  We have a human habit of trying to minimize our errors, yet we want to aggrandize our successes (however small they may be).

One of the things I appreciate about my bride is her honesty.  I once jokingly asked her if my pants made me look fat...her response was "nope, it's all you're trying to stuff in them that does though."  

God does not like dishonesty in any form. (A "white" lie is still a lie).  Now I will say that there is such a thing as BRUTAL honesty which is intended to degrade someone else.  That is not the "honesty" I'm talking about.  If I make a mistake, bring it to my attention with courtesy, and I am more likely to listen and make adjustments.

And here's the kicker: Be more honest in complimenting and encouraging others than in correcting, and you will see a positive change. 

Money Just Can't Buy...

Better to be poor and honest
    than to be dishonest and rich.

~Proverbs 28:6

You see it quite frequently, people wanting to impress others with their money.  Where they got their money is irrelevant to them, all they care is they have wads of it and everyone else doesn't.  Doesn't that impress you?

 

You see...money can buy any number of things:

     - cars

     - houses

     - boats

     - trips

     - jewelry

     - gadgets

 

While having those things might appear impressive, my question is this: if you have all this money, how are you helping others? Okay, I'll admit it, I was stunned and rather impressed when I saw a man who had purchased a golden toilet.  But then, my sweet Bride reminded me that this man spent quite a lot on a device that is merely a waste disposal unit.

 

The things that should impress us are the things that cannot be purchased:

     - honesty

     - love

     - integrity

     - courtesy

     - caring

     - loyalty

 

Remember the story of the Prodigal Son?  He got his inheritance and went off and spent it freely.  As long as he had money to spend, he had 'friends' to help him.  Where were those 'friends' when the young man had to slop pigs? 

 

Remember the Rich Young Ruler who asked Jesus what he needed to do to gain eternal life?  He was trying to work a bargain, and was absolutely crushed when he found out that Eternal Life cannot be bought, sold, or earned!

Say what you will, but it is better to be poor and honest than rich and hellbound.

     

God Don't Play!

I'm going to start by ticking some of you off, but I ask that you grit your teeth (grind them if needed) and read all the way through before calling forth the Fork & Pitchfork Brigade.

I am not a respecter of titles.  Don't care what you are called, how many degrees you have, how much education you claim, how many letters of the alphabet you have after your name, who you know, who you claim to know, what kind of clothes you have, what kind of car you drive, how much money you have, what kind of watch you wear, where you live, what your personal politics are.....I don't care!  

I don't care what color your hair is this week.  I don't care what color your skin is.  I don't care if you are tall or short or portly or thin.  

Why?  Because all of these are EXTERNALS and are not who you truly are in God's eyes!  We can easily be impressed and influenced by externals.  And we can be fooled by externals as well!

Keep this in mind: "But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7

God see who we truly are and loves us anyway!  Want to be truly respected? Be respectful, Be true and Be Respectable!

Think about this too: Then Peter replied, “I see very clearly that GOD SHOWS NO FAVORITISM. In every nation he accepts those who fear him and do what is right." Acts 10:34-35.  

So why do we focus so much on the irrelevant externals instead of being real, honest, true, and respectful to each other?

You see, you can fool me, but I don't count.  The one who does count is God and you can't fool Him because He doesn't show favoritism!  He loves me just as much as He loves you!