Jump Start # 1873

Proverbs 3:1 My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments.”

NOTE: If you read our Jump Start yesterday about using social media to spread the message. Yesterday we reported that our Sunday night sermon was VIEWED by 12,000 people. Today, the number is over 17,000. The number increased 5,000 in one day!

Sunday is Father’s Day. It’s the time that we honor dear ole’ dad. Some dads did a really good job. Others, were never around. Some are Christians today because of their dads. Some had to overcome the obstacles that their dads put in their way. Their dads stood between them and Christ.

The first several chapters of Proverbs are written from the perspective of a dad instructing his son. Many of us remember those days. How to cut the yard. How to drive a car. How to fix things. How to be a man. We grew up, got married and we became dads. We found out that parenting wasn’t easy. We learned that many things people say do not work. Kids take time, money and a lot of patience. Stress from work and stress from the world piles up and then the stress from raising children can’t leave a parent tired, worried and stretched.

We all want to be not just a good parent, but an amazing parent. We want our kids to adore us as much as we adore them. We want our children to be happy, get along and know the Lord. We try to set forth the right example. We try to find a healthy congregation to be a part of. We guide our children to finding good friends. We try to get them to eat healthy food. We are concerned about how much electronics they watch. Go outside and play, but then we worry about them getting too much sun. Then everyone on Facebook has an opinion. Home schooling is the best, we read. The next thing we read is “Ten reasons never to Home School.” The parent is confused. They are confused about food, vacations, what time to put the kids to bed, potty training, discipline—for every piece of advice, you’ll find a blog declaring “Ten things wrong with that.”

Here’s some thoughts:

1. Everyone has an opinion and they think that theirs is the best. If you do not do what some advice, they think you’ll ruin your kids and you are an idiot. My thoughts are just BREATHE. You don’t have to do what everyone else is doing. Draw from your experiences. Was it good? Was it bad? Look deeply into the word of God. Mom and Dad talk through these things. Think it out. Have a plan, don’t just react. Your children are given to you by God. It’s your responsibility, not some blog writer, to raise your children. You have invested yourself in them. No one, other than God, wants them to grow up right as you do.

2. Every generation faces challenges that they think are the worst ever. For me in high school, the issues were the post hippie mentality, civil rights in a racially tense school and drugs. Lots of drugs. I’m glad I wasn’t a parent then. Yet, for my dad, when he was in high school, there was a major world war going on. My grandparents had both of their sons overseas engaged in that war. Communication was limited. They didn’t even know where their sons were. Two sons, one fresh out of high school in places many had never heard of before. I can only imagine what those nightly prayers involved. It doesn’t help young parents today to try to tell them what you went through was so much worse than what they are going through. This isn’t a contest. Each generation faces tough choices. I feel in many places today, the church is better, stronger and more able to help than in times past. We focus more on the individual and the family today in our classes and sermons. Help is available.

3. The joy of parenting is seen in your children who are grown, walking with the Lord and now raising their own children. No parent is perfect. Every parent sees things that they wish they could have done differently. We look not in the rear view mirror, but through the windshield of life. One of the greatest blessings is to have been a part of a home where mom and dad walked with the Lord. What an advantage that gave us. The rules were stricter. You had to account for your time and who you were with. You were expected to be at the dinner table. You went to worship. That was a given. No discussion about that. No sour attitudes nor bad words were allowed. Ever. Your clothing had to be modest. You were taught to pray. You learned the Bible.

And now, all these years later, we remember those instructions of our dads. Some of our dads preached. Some served as elders. Some were deacons. Many taught Bible classes. Families from the church were invited into our home. We had to clean up the house and be on our good behavior when they came. We grew up knowing the difference between our Sunday clothes and play clothes. We were taught to respect the Bible and to take care of the one we had. Our parents spanked. We were sent to our rooms. We could not go to places our friends were going. And, most of us now realize that we gave our parents grief when we were teenagers. We pushed the envelope of right and wrong. We challenged the rules and broke them often. We also remember the looks on their faces when we were baptized, many of us by our own dads.

Here we are now, parents and grandparents. We have taken the roles once held so honorably by our parents. The torch is now in our hands and we realize that someday we will be handing it off to those who follow us.

Our parents have given the greatest thing that they have to us, their hearts and their love. They tried their best to make us be our best. Today, we see that. Through all the arguments, fights, fussing and discipline they wanted us to grow up and be responsible citizens and servants of Christ. We are the ones who are now shaping and leading the church today. It is us who are developing the hearts of those who follow.

We owe much to our parents. Many of us would not be where we are today had it not been for them. And now, we must do the same. We must pour our hearts and love into our children. We can’t stop. We can’t let the world have them. We must fight, teach and show them that the way of the cross leads home.

Thanks, Dad!

Roger

Jump Start # 1870

Proverbs 10:19 “When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable, but he who restrains his lips is wise.”

The thoughts found in our verse today are sprinkled throughout the Bible. In Ecclesiastes we find, “there is a time to speak and a time to be silent.” In James, it is, “let a man be quick to hear and slow to speak.” We are a talking society. Have you noticed every where people are on their phones. They drive talking on phones. They walk into stores talking on phones. They are talking on phones while their kids are on the field playing sports. It’s so bad that movie theatres and churches post messages about turning your phones off. As soon as an airplane lands, the phones are on and people are talking on them.

I wonder what all we are talking about? I also wonder how the past generation managed without cell phones? We are talking to someone all the time.

There are some things that we need to notice:

First, as our verse warns, the more we talk, the more we invite trouble. Transgression, which is sin, is unavoidable. You’ll fall into it. It will happen. Why is this? The more we talk, the more we say things that we shouldn’t. We even say that in a conversation. “I probably shouldn’t say this, but…” But we say it, don’t we? We get closer and closer to gossiping when we talk too much. We get talking negative about people, even our family and brethren, when we talk too much.

Second, some things just do not need to be said. You may see things, but you do not have to tell others. Some things changes people’s image of others. Some things are just not nice. Some things are no one’s business. Some things are private. You do not have to give a full report to everyone who is curious about what you are doing. Not all questions should be answered.

Third, in all this talking to others, maybe we ought to be talking more to God. God already knows. God sees the heart. Often the people we talk to can only agree with our situation but they can’t do much about it. God can. Talking more to God brings us closer to Him. It will help us to think more spiritually and to walk in His ways. Talking to God invites God into our lives.

Fourth, keeping your mouth closed, restraining your lips, as the verse reads, is wise. It shows thought and consideration. We love to talk about ourselves. We like to brag. We like to tell others how great our kids are. Let your walk and let your deeds speak for you. Don’t toot your own horn. No one likes that sound. By seeing your good works, they glorify God is what Jesus taught. You don’t have to tell others what you did. Just do things and folks will see it. And if they don’t, God does.

Have you noticed how hard it is for people to sit in silence. We always have noise around us. We wake up to a clock radio and that just begins the day. We have the TV on as we get ready for work. In the drive to work, the radio is on. At work, there is a lot of talking going on. We return home, with the radio on in the car. We spend the evening with the TV on. Finally, we collapse into bed, sometimes falling asleep with the TV on. Can you imagine just sitting on your back porch with someone in silence. Very uncomfortable for some. They’d at least have to have the phones with them to check for text messages and email. Sitting in silence and just thinking. Sitting in silence and just relaxing. Sitting in silence and just enjoying the creation God has made. Sitting in silence—this is where meditation begins. This is where deep thoughts are formed. The Psalmist declared, “Be still and know that I am God.” Listen. Be quiet. Have you heard the song bird in the morning? Have you heard the wind blowing through the leaves of a tree? Have you heard?

Fifth, with everyone talking, who is listening? That’s a thought for all of God’s people. We are quick to tell our teens what they need to be doing, but have we listened to them? What’s going on in their world? Have we listened to the concerns of the shepherds of the church? Do we hear what they are saying? In Acts 6 a compliant arose about some being neglected. That problem was taken to the apostles. They heard. They came up with a plan. They listened.

Part of the drive to form this country was that the colonies were being taxed and they had no representation in England. No one heard them. No one listened. No one cared. There are some who feel that way about their family. No one listens. No one cares. Some feel this way about the church. No one listens. No one cares.

Every person has their own story. It’s their life. Listening to others tell their story, not only brings you closer to them, but it shows that you truly care. Former astronaut Michael Collins once said that the average person speaks about 30,000 words a day. The problem, he claimed, was when he got home from work, he had already spoken his 30,000 words and his wife was just starting.

Listen more and speak less. That’s hard for many of us. It will keep us out of a lot of trouble if we did. Don’t always speak your mind. Don’t always have the last word. Don’t always have to trump what the other guy says. You’ll learn more by listening than speaking. You’ll get closer by listening than speaking.

Make your words count. Think before you speak. Be careful what you say. Many souls have been slain by mean and hurtful things that we thoughtlessly spoke. The ole, “Sticks and stones may hurt you, but words never will,” is not true. A parent who tells their child that they are dumb, can ruin that child. A wife who protests to her husband, “You can’t do anything right,” may have just put a stake in his heart. “I don’t like you…” “I don’t love you…” Those words not only do hurt, they destroy.

Restraining your lips—that ‘s the path we need to travel.

Roger