Examples
And if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck. Mark 9:42
Yesterday I was driving and came to a curve in the road. This curve was mentioned in a sermon I heard several years ago. The pastor said that shortly after having a talk with his young children about obedience he was driving on that curve going 15 miles over the legal limit. His youngest son commented on that fact asking why he had to obey if his father did not. Years later that same man would prove to his sons in a horrible, public and humiliating way that he did not believe that he had to follow the rules. That man had many people looking at his behavior, measuring his response to Scripture and he failed them all. He is not alone.
Every parent in the world is under the same scrutiny. It is important that we live as we are telling our children they should live. If they have to do something because “I said so” then we must do what our authorities tell us to do as well. When they see us living as if the Commandments don’t exist they see hypocrisy. There are numerous songs and poems that illustrate the importance of modeling good behavior for our children. What about our siblings? Or our co-workers? Our parents?
Once we claim the name of Christian we have to live up to it to the best of our ability. Just like that pastor, our words and actions are being measured by all who see us. Some watch to emulate our behavior. Some watch to catch us in an indiscretion or other form of hypocrisy.
We all fall short. We all make mistakes but when we preach with our words we better pray that our actions match. None of us is perfect, but we all should be striving toward perfection. (Matthew 5:48) We will fail, and those failures will be seen. It is our responsibility to be seen succeeding more often than failing. That pastor was a lousy example for his children and for his flock. By observing his mistake I hope to learn and to do better. I know I’m much more cautious on that curve in the road. That’s a silly thing maybe but it does remind me of the bigger picture.
Yesterday I was driving and came to a curve in the road. This curve was mentioned in a sermon I heard several years ago. The pastor said that shortly after having a talk with his young children about obedience he was driving on that curve going 15 miles over the legal limit. His youngest son commented on that fact asking why he had to obey if his father did not. Years later that same man would prove to his sons in a horrible, public and humiliating way that he did not believe that he had to follow the rules. That man had many people looking at his behavior, measuring his response to Scripture and he failed them all. He is not alone.
Every parent in the world is under the same scrutiny. It is important that we live as we are telling our children they should live. If they have to do something because “I said so” then we must do what our authorities tell us to do as well. When they see us living as if the Commandments don’t exist they see hypocrisy. There are numerous songs and poems that illustrate the importance of modeling good behavior for our children. What about our siblings? Or our co-workers? Our parents?
Once we claim the name of Christian we have to live up to it to the best of our ability. Just like that pastor, our words and actions are being measured by all who see us. Some watch to emulate our behavior. Some watch to catch us in an indiscretion or other form of hypocrisy.
We all fall short. We all make mistakes but when we preach with our words we better pray that our actions match. None of us is perfect, but we all should be striving toward perfection. (Matthew 5:48) We will fail, and those failures will be seen. It is our responsibility to be seen succeeding more often than failing. That pastor was a lousy example for his children and for his flock. By observing his mistake I hope to learn and to do better. I know I’m much more cautious on that curve in the road. That’s a silly thing maybe but it does remind me of the bigger picture.
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