Teach Them Well

Thursday, November 9, 2023

O my people, listen to my instructions.  Open your ears to what I am saying, for I will speak to you in a parable.  I will teach you hidden lessons from our past—stories we have heard and known, stories our ancestors handed down to us.  We will not hide these truths from our children; we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord, about his power and his mighty wonders.  For he issued his laws to Jacob; he gave his instructions to Israel.  He commanded our ancestors to teach them to their children, so the next generation might know them—even the children not yet born—and they in turn will teach their own children.  So each generation should set its hope anew on God, not forgetting his glorious miracles and obeying his commands.  Psalm 78:1-7

If children are not taught well the lessons of how God’s Word is to be obeyed, we have no hope of having a sane, kind, and sustainable world.

In an age when everything must have an immediate solution, there is little hope of a “viral” response to this text.  Still, this text contains the ultimate solution to the madness that envelopes the 21^st century culture…to wit:  If children are not taught well the lessons of how God’s Word is to be obeyed, we have no hope of having a sane, kind, and sustainable world.

The Psalmist said it clearly, that if we forget God’s sovereign power (shown in His miracles and creation) complete generations of humans will cease to know God, and will therefore, set their hope on possessions and selfish ambitions.  I cannot think of a better characterization of what is happening in our world.  In my lifetime I have watched the disappearing act in churches, and the accompanying disregarding of fearing God (in the sense of honoring He who created and sustains us):

Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.  He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth.  He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see—such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world.  Everything was created through him and for him.  He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together.  Colossians 1:15-17

Putting this all together:  

     1.    God, through Jesus, the Christ, created everything, including all humanity, and keeps it going every second of every millennium, and is therefore the owner of all of it…and us.

     2.    He has given it all as a gift, sealed by the promise of His Spirit, the result of the blood of His Son, Jesus shed on Calvary’s tree.

3.    That requires a response of respect and reverence for He who owns us, loves us, empowers us, and sets us free to live creative, constructive, kind, and loving lives.

     4.    That shows up in many ways; the first (and foremost) of which is worship!

     5.    We are increasingly doing a pitiful job of that response

     6.    The way to reverse it is for families to return to a priority of worship, Bible study, and prayer, so that the children in those families will learn how to really live.

For You Today 

What I have shared is not new, nor is it flashy.  It’s not likely to make any headlines, and it’s not a single app you can get on Google, where you can hit the button and solve all your problems.  Rather, it’s a mindset, a worldview, a plain distillation of what Scripture covers from Genesis to Revelation – humankind’s responsibility to worship God all the days we live, and do whatever’s necessary to pass-along the faith to that next generation. 

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

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There are about 2,600 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road library.

Today’s title Image from Pixabay.com  

Images without citation are in public domain or cited via weblinks.  

Unless noted, Scripture quoted from NLT^©   

Teaching the Children

 

Friday, November 6, 2020

O my people, listen to my instructions.  Open your ears to what I am saying, for I will speak to you in a parable.  I will teach you hidden lessons from our past—stories we have heard and known, stories our ancestors handed down to us.  We will not hide these truths from our children; we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord, about his power and his mighty wonders.  For he issued his laws to Jacob; he gave his instructions to Israel.  He commanded our ancestors to teach them to their children, so the next generation might know them—even the children not yet born—and they in turn will teach their own children.  So each generation should set its hope anew on God, not forgetting his glorious miracles and obeying his commands.  Psalm 78:1-7

Children are always learning.  It is how we are created; we are born with brains that are sponges for information.  By the time you’re my age you may be a little overly-saturated with useless stuff you’ve managed to sop up in 7 decades.  And, while my little mind, a hard-drive full of thoughts, memories, conflicts, joys, sorrows, and wondering may be slowing down under the weight, children are just getting started. 

This Psalm reminds us of the importance of pointing children in the right direction.  That statement immediately draws forth the question, what if the kids won’t go to school?  This applies in a variety of ways.  Most kids haven’t seen the inside of a classroom for the past year; they’re still learning.  That goes for church also – at least being in the building; they may be worshipping if their parents have taken the time and energy to create a home-worship atmosphere.  Many kids have had to settle for screen-relationships to understand friendship-building. 

We live in a challenging time.  Wow – talk about the understatement of the year!  Perhaps 2020 will be remembered as the year of pandemic learning and political leaning.  Whatever history books (or learning modules, if you will) record of 2020’s dozen months of pandemic, it will certainly have to include the coronavirus as an epic political hot potato, straining personal patience, political tolerance, and parenting creativity to the fullest extent the envelope could withstand…and beyond!

And, still, the children are learning.

The question becomes, what ARE they learning?  The short answer is whatever they’re being taught.  Or, perhaps more appropriately, whatever they’ve caught. The familiar saying one picture is worth a thousand words comes to mind.  We ordinarily think of words, lectures, and tests when the subject is learning.  But life skills of manners in relationship, personal integrity, faith, citizenship, and responsibility are never best taught in a classroom; these are matters of observation and reinforcement by the ones most significant in the lives of children.

Dorothy Law Nolte wrote a poem, which later expanded into a book, detailing the premise that children learn volumes more from seeing what others do, rather than the direct instruction of words and lessons.  The poem begins with the negative, and navigates to the positive:

Children Learn What They Live

If children live with criticism, they learn to condemn.

If children live with hostility, they learn to fight.

If children live with ridicule, they learn to be shy.

If children live with shame, they learn to feel guilty.

If children live with encouragement, they learn confidence.

If children live with tolerance, they learn to be patient.

If children live with praise, they learn to appreciate.

If children live with acceptance, they learn to love.

If children live with approval, they learn to like themselves.

If children live with honesty, they learn truthfulness.

If children live with security, they learn to have faith in themselves and others.

If children live with friendliness, they learn the world is a nice place in which to live.[1]

Whatever the children of this generation have learned about themselves, the world, God, and the human family during this year will directly and accurately reflect how we adults have acted during this year. 

For You Today

Is it begging a debate to ask what have you thrown in 2020 that others have caught?  And, the companion question, will 2021 be different?

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

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Title image:  Pixabay.com   W   Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©

For another post on this text see:  Passing Along the Faith  

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[1] ©1972 Dorothy Law Nolte, All Rights Reserved.  Source:  https://childrenlearnwhattheylive.com/

Going Out in a Blaze of Glory - Part 2

[1]

Friday, November 10, 2017

O my people, listen to my instructions.  Open your ears to what I am saying, for I will speak to you in a parable.  I will teach you hidden lessons from our past—stories we have heard and known, stories our ancestors handed down to us.  We will not hide these truths from our children; we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord, about his power and his mighty wonders.  For he issued his laws to Jacob; he gave his instructions to Israel.  He commanded our ancestors to teach them to their children, so the next generation might know them—even the children not yet born—and they in turn will teach their own children.  So each generation should set its hope anew on God, not forgetting his glorious miracles and obeying his commands.  Psalm 78:1-7^(NLT)

This Psalm, or maskil, a Hebrew song sung in worship, sets the stage for proclamation of God’s ways through the retelling of humanity’s journey from Eden to the present.  Its purpose is to instruct the congregation in God’s Word so it will be passed-down through the generations.  As the final verse unfolds we see God’s wise challenge; this is not a rote-memory project, mechanically reciting the words to commit to memory.  Rather it is an experience that helps the Word come alive for young (and old) minds.  This is the awakening dawn of faith; hope gets set anew on God in each generation.

Yesterday’s devotion made a point about the reality of the cycle of generations.  Just by looking at the changing color of the leaves we understand that the fall announcement of winter’s coming is a perfect metaphor for what happens in the human family.  We start off as buds, mature into healthy green leaves, turn a blaze of colors, then…gone!  The leaves’ swan song is brilliant; they go out in a blaze of glory.  But it’s death, nonetheless. 

I have to admit that at seventy I think a lot more now than before about this cycle and my responsibility in God’s plan to pass along the faith.  (When you’re raking up 54 gazillion leaves a day you have some time to think.)

In some ways we are no different in the 8^th decade of life than the first; we still learn by example.  The pictures we paint for our children with our behavior are a powerful source of understanding how life is/can be lived.  The old saying do as I say, NOT as I do speaks true volumes when it comes to failure in communicating authentically.  We cannot convince our children and grandchildren to DO differently than we have simply by ordering it; behavior is more caught than taught!  Occasionally a child who is wise beyond her years might reason that a command makes sense; but, that would be a child well-beyond his years.  Mostly our children watch us, see what we do, and then proceed to make their way for good or bad based on our example.  Ripples do affect the lake!

And so the whole point of this Passing-Along-the-Faith-Psalm is to model living God’s ways daily, so our children grasp more fully what it means to be God’s child.  We are all flawed and make mistakes, but by the time our youthful green meets the cold snap of Fall’s change in color, the pattern of our discipleship ought to display a grand flourish of devotion to the will and way of God.  And so much, so that the generation immediately behind can’t help but see the loveliness of what God has built. 

We usually express the growing older image with the metaphor of the color of our hair being snow on the roof; today I am officially changing it to:  I am in the season of going out in a blaze of glory. 

I want my children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren to see God’s best; I want to offer them a memory of Godliness that’s authentic.  I want them to see the change God has made in me.  I want to be part of helping the next generation set their hope anew on the Lord Jesus.

For You Today

No matter how close you are to the going out part of going out in a blaze…while you’re breathing it is not too late to begin to let God set you on fire!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road…have a blessed day!

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[1] Title Image: Russell Brownworth