I remember as a child being given the promise of discipline if we did not behave. But equally, there were promises of blessing if we, as children, would simply obey. It's true children tend to lean towards obeying because of the blessing they will receive, moreover than a threat of discipline. I personally believe it is essential for a child to obey solely on the basis of obedience, and not because they have a gift awaiting them, but I also believe there are times where blessing a child with something special when they have obeyed and done their best is warranted.
My wife and I went with our oldest daughter, Rachel, to go and pick up our grandson Titus from school. It was a Friday and his week was over. In his class the teacher has implemented a system of three colors and a pin to help the parents identify how the child is doing in obeying the teacher's commands. Now this is much different than the boat oar with holes drilled in it for paddling that I experienced in school as a child.
So the system goes like this:
-Green is for when the child has been obedient and has demonstrated very good listening skills.
-Yellow is for when the child has been somewhat obedient, and has demonstrated acceptable listening skills.
-Red is for when the child has not been obedient, and has not demonstrated good listening skills.
-And when the child's nameplate has been taken off and is placed on the chalkboard, and is accompanied by a red mark, then the child has expressed willful disobedience and has not obeyed the teacher.
Each day the child goes through this system of being graded on their ability to listen and obey. At the end of the week, if the child did not acquire any red marks, then the child is given the gift of opening a treasure box where they would pull out a small toy to reward them for their good behavior.
As I thought about this system, I thought of the many great aspects of it, and the unfortunate consequences. One of the great aspects of the system is the parent is made aware of their child's propensity to either obey, or to act independently of what they were asked and disobey. This should give the parent an idea of the need for correction in the child's life, thereby avoiding any habitual patterns.
Correct your son, and he will give you rest; Yes, he will give delight to your soul. Proverbs 29:17 (NKJV)
As we sat in the car awaiting Titus, I had a flashback from when our girls were young, and how my wife started a pattern of always making a big deal when Rachel and her sister Shayla did well on their testing. It seemed as if our girls loved this attention and reward. And as such, they both excelled in their schoolwork. Today, we had planned on taking Titus to McDonalds and allowing him to get a happy meal with a toy, and to play on the playground, as this was what he liked.
Unfortunately, upon Titus arriving at the vehicle, I could see his countenance was down, and so we asked him how his day had gone. He said, "good", but his voice didn't have his usually fun-natured tone to it. We asked him what kind of toy he received from the treasure chest, since he had green colors all week long, and it was then he told us he didn't get to go to the treasure chest because he had received a red color next to his name that day.
We were bummed for him, and we talked about the reasons why this happened and asked him if he understood why. The system seemed to be working, and he understood fully the consequences of his actions. Unfortunately, it also meant we were not going to be able to take him to lunch at his favorite place either. In actuality, I think we were even sadder about this turn of events, because we wanted to bless him.
I started to think about how God must feel the same way about us when we blow it. I thought about how many times God probably wanted to bless me, only to have to withhold His blessing because of my selfish actions? Think about this for a little bit. If obedience to God equals a green mark, and if disobedience to God equals a red mark, how would your chalkboard look at the end of the day?
I want to encourage you today to think about your actions - whether or not they are in God's will, or if they are just actions deserving a red mark. God wants to bless each of His children in an amazing way, if we would only let Him.
STUDY QUESTION: What can we learn about God's ability and desire to give us good things according to Matthew 7:11?
PERSONAL INVENTORY: Are you consistently getting green marks or red marks?
APPLICATION: Seek to listen to God and to obey His commands. Seek to please Him in everything you do.
I find it mind boggling to look at today's technology. It amazes me how the advancements in technology are coming at us in such a hurried pace, we seldom have time to learn what is currently available before it is considered obsolete.
When I was young I remember playing a game called, Pong. Much like tennis or ping-pong, it consisted of a dot on a screen going back and forth in between two players. Each person had a knob to twist, which would move a vertical line (paddle) on the screen in an attempt to intercept the dot, thereby sending it back to the other player. Oh what excitement! Take a look at video games these days. We can play virtual golf in the comfort of our own living room making a swinging motion while watching our ball being driven on an exact replica of the greens at Torrey Pines or a number of other courses.
I remember the days of my youth, when every phone was attached to a cord, and the cord was attached to a wall. If you wanted to talk, it meant being stationary near a plugged in phone and walking was limited to the length of your phone cord. Today, we have cell phones that allow us to be virtually anywhere while continuing to talk. Everything we do is centered on our cell phone. We have our day planners and calendars, as well as a host of other tools available to us on them.
And these palm-sized phones are really mini super-computers. Things we use to do with many different devices such as cameras, video recorders, and calculators, are all done with our cell phone. We can take snapshot pictures, shoot videos, and go online to the Internet from them.
Now, the idea behind technology is to make our lives better, simpler, and easier. It is to help us have more time. And yet, technology is doing everything but this. The very gadgets and inventions introduced to help us maximize our time are gobbling it up faster than this new technology is evolving. In essence, we are becoming slaves to them.
Truth be told, I think these technological advancements can be the very things causing us to stumble in our walk with God. I think so many of the things created to save time and share information have imprisoned us. More and more people are looking to these technologies for entertainment too. Things such as Facebook, Skype, Internet blogging and Twitter now consume us. Forget waiting to hear about what happened last week or yesterday, or for that matter, how about what is going on right now?
I think the words of Paul in 2 Timothy are ringing true in our culture, as man is becoming a lover of himself, and a lover of pleasure. Let's face it, people love to see themselves on the pages of the Internet. And there are people who will share every little detail about themselves, such as where they went to breakfast, what they decided to wear, and what they plan on doing in the next two hours. Enough already!
What I find even more interesting is there are people eagerly waiting to read this stuff! It's as if they can't wait to get the latest on what's going on in other people's lives. It's like, Hey, grab a cup of coffee, sit down, and let's see what's happening out there. I hear people talking all the time about somebody else's life, and how so and so is pregnant from her boyfriend, and how they read it on Facebook. We are told not to be a busybody in other people's matters. Look at the comparison, or grouping Peter gives to a busybody in this verse as well.
But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people's matters. 1 Peter 4:15 (NKJV)
The enemy is going to do whatever he can to get us to take our eyes off of God, and the things of God, and to put our eyes back on the things of this world. We have to ask ourselves some serious questions of accountability. Questions such as:
Q: Have we become a prisoner to technology?
Q: Are we using technology to free up our time, or is it consuming it?
Q: Are we using things such as Facebook and Twitter to further the Kingdom of God, or to further our entertainment and vanity?
Hey Christian, I want you to hear me in this. I am not against technology, or things such as Twitter or Facebook. I am against what the enemy does with them. I am against these things causing others to stumble in their walk. I am against spending our valuable time seeking to find pleasure in these things. I am against our being so in love with ourselves, we have to show and tell the world all about us.
Let's let God bring us the relationships and friendships He intends for us to have. Let's take the time to spend with people one-on-one and develop God-honoring relationships, keeping those things spoken of in confidence, rather than posting a blog, or tweet on what we talked about.
STUDY QUESTION: According to 2 Timothy 3:4, what do men become lovers of in the last days?
PERSONAL INVENTORY: Do you find yourself loving pleasure more than God?
APPLICATION: When we focus on pleasure, we will want it more and more. When we focus on the things of God, we will begin to love these things. Give the best of your time to God and spend time reading His Word.
