In yesterday’s 9:30am service, we continued talking about Paul’s first letter to Timothy, specifically 1 Timothy 5:1-6:5. The point came up (again) that what we believe impacts what we do. That means that other people will be able to begin figuring out what’s truly important to us simply by watching us.
I think this is well (and humorously) described by Denise Dykstra in her “From Toddlers to Teens” column in the 9 Mar 2009 edition of Christian Courier entitled “We’re Being Watched” (p. 12). I quoted the first three paragraphs of her article in my message. Here they are (again) for your reading pleasure…
“Our kids have always been good sleepers. Too good, I guess. It came as a shock to us when child number five rolled around. Damien is 3-years-old. He can sleep through the night, he knows he should sleep through the night, but he doesn’t seem to be able to stop himself from taking a little peek at us at 3 or 4 in the morning.
“A few weeks ago, I heard Damien call for me – again – and I’d had enough. I jumped out of bed and stormed into his room ready to give him a piece of my mind. He knew I’d be mad. He sat huddled on the far corner of his bed, clutching fistfuls of blankets around him, and before I could say anything he folded his little hands, held them out to me, and blurted: ‘Mom, I need to pray.’ Oh, he’s smart! How could I get mad at that? He may be only 3, but already he knows what’s important to me!
“We’ve all heard the saying Children learn what they live. But have we really absorbed the concept? Are we consciously aware that our actions teach our kids what we value – and that our kids are always watching?”
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4th Point 