"All the World's a _____" ?

A day or two before moving to Missouri dad had an errand to run and he asked me to go along. He dropped in on an older gentleman from our congregation while I stayed in the car. Dad returned with a shoe box. Inside was a pair of shoes. He said they were the wrong size for him, but he accepted them anyway.

Confused, I asked why. Dad explained that he had taught the man about God and that he was deeply grateful and wanted to give him a gift. Dad said that he accepted the gift because the man needed to honor him with a gift.

That was a profound lesson for a 13-year-old: He needed the opportunity to give.

My dad was a great example that day. But there was something about his example that I’ve reflected on numerous times. I did not learn from his example by watching, but by listening. The example was there, but I would have never learned that valuable lesson without dad’s words to communicate it.

Sometimes our children will pick up on valuable lessons without us saying a word. More often, however, we will need to use words. We will need to focus their attention and tell them what our examples mean. It’s not bragging. It’s called instruction, and it’s our job as parents.

Early in the book of Proverbs Solomon wrote:

Hear, my son, your father’s instruction 

And do not forsake your mother’s teaching.

Fathers and mothers are both teachers and there are many areas of life deserving of their instruction. It is worthwhile to teach children about managing their finances, being responsible with the their possessions, how to make good friends and how to choose a respectable career. It is important to see, however, that all of these important areas of life are ultimately connected to righteousness. Other related qualities that Solomon emphasized include honesty, integrity, faithfulness, honor, personal responsibility, fairness, justice, purity, kindness, and generosity. These qualities apply to all relationships in life, but especially one's relationship with God.

To the Israelites God instructed parents to teach their children His law. The Law of Moses provided instruction regarding God, one’s fellow man, non-Israelites, authority/government, benevolence, taxation and even care of the land and care for work animals.

In the New Testament parents, specifically fathers, are instructed to…

Bring them [children] up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord.

—Ephesians 6:4 (NLT)

We must teach our children all the things that Jesus and His disciples taught.

As Christians, we take to heart the instruction that God gave to the Israelites regarding the teaching of their children.

Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. 

—Deuteronomy 6:7 (NLT)

Shakespeare wrote “All the world’s a stage.” (What would you expect from a guy writing plays?) But I think God was trying to tell His people, and yes, us today, “All the world’s a classroom.” So...teach!

Teach what Jesus taught and how it all relates to life. Teach by example; but don’t forget the words. And teach TODAY, wherever you are, because, blink…they’re grown.

Mark Stinnett

November 7, 2021