That Seems a Little Out of Place
June 15, 2008
One morning this week I opened the refrigerator door to get a glass of milk and there was a clothes hanger neatly laid between the eggs and the orange juice. There is nothing strange about a clothes hanger until you see one in the refrigerator. I immediately knew that my two year old daughter had put it there. She meant well but simply did not know that it was out of place. There are two obvious lessons in this.
First, even the most common place truths must be taught. As parents we often take for granted that what is obvious to us should be obvious to our children. Ephesians 6:4 states, “And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.” Let me expound upon that verse. Parents don’t react harshly to a child for doing something wrong if we have never taught them the right way. If anyone has ever assigned you a difficult job without any training and criticized you when you didn’t get it right then you know how it feels.
Secondly, although the clothes hanger was not bad within and of itself, it took up space where something else was intended to go. Like a refrigerator a Christian’s life should be a source of preservation for a lot of things that would otherwise spoil. When the world opens the door to our lives and looks inside what crosses their minds? I am not saying that what they see is wrong within and of itself, but is it out of place? If it makes the world question our spiritual priorities, then it is wrong for us. What would be blessings have we not made room for them in our lives? Does our society decay because we have filled our lives with things that never should have been there in the first place? Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned; it is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men” (Matthew 5:13). Dads, if our children are ever to know these things it will be up to us to teach them.
Comments
Got something to say?
You must be logged in to post a comment.