[Biblemat] B> Gospel Observer 9/9/07
tedwards at onemain.com
tedwards at onemain.com
Sun Sep 16 21:24:47 CDT 2007
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THE GOSPEL OBSERVER
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"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...teaching
them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you
always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19,20).
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September 9, 2007
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Contents:
1) Respect for Authority (Everett Hardin)
2) News & Notes
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-1-
Respect for Authority
by Everett Hardin
Respect for authority is fundamental in rearing children. It
must be the first lesson; for without it nothing worthwhile will
ever be instilled in our children. Children who aren't taught
obedience in the home usually have a hard time submitting to
authority of any kind. Many parents, failing to recognize this,
have absolutely ruined their children. Thus, we see children who
run the home, disrupt the school, and take over the Bible class.
Later in life, these children are a problem on the job, get into
trouble with the law, and are a menace to society. Finally, they
lose their souls. Why? Too often the answer is in the fact that
their parents never taught the first lesson.
Society is greatly benefited by due subordination of family
life. We are suffering today because of a crop of permissive
children who never learned obedience to their parents or superiors.
Young people proudly wear their badges of rebellion. They will not
conform to society nor subordinate to anything or anybody. The
spirit of resentment for any authority is both impractical and
unscriptural. You will always have someone over you. There are some
rules and regulations you are going to have to respect, and some
authority to which you will have to answer. If you don't learn it
in this life and die a renegade, you will most assuredly learn it
in the judgment.
The home should be a place where members show respect for
parental authority, civil authority, and the law of God. Respect
for authority begins in the home, carries over into the school, the
city streets, and the church.
Parental Authority
Children must be taught respect for parents. "Children obey
your parents in the Lord"; "Honor thy father and thy mother" (Eph.
6:1,2). Children who hear the instruction of fathers and abide in
the law of mothers find parents are "fair garlands for their heads"
and "pendants about their necks" (Prov. 1:8,9; 6:20). This
obedience should flow not only from the feeling of love, gratitude
and esteem for their parents, but especially from reverence for the
Lord. Obedience is the duty, and honor is the disposition of which
true obedience is born. This is an obligation that rests on the
very nature of things and cannot change with our changing world. It
is not enough for children to simply obey in act. Love and
reverence should be found in the heart of the child.
We have been living for some time in a child-oriented society
which has been profitable to neither children nor parents. The
father in many homes today is only a breadwinner, possessed of no
say-so in the affairs of his offspring. The mother is a glorified
maid and is expected to desist from meddling in the business of her
youngsters. The result is this: the young people rule and parents
become slaves to their children. Age is demeaned, inexperience is
exalted, wisdom is ignored, discipline is ridiculed, and controls
scoffed at. Parents sit back afraid to challenge this movement
brought about by their own mismanagement. The basic problem is not
in the young themselves, but in the misdirection they are
receiving.
Parents must establish their authority over the child. Children
are to obey their parents "in all things" (Col. 3:20). The father
is to rule (Eph. 5:22,33; 6:4). He should establish fundamental
rules with which the family lives. Be consistent in your attitudes
and expectations. It is irresponsible to allow a child to get by
with challenging your authority, whether it be a small child who
throws a temper tantrum when told to put up his toys and get ready
for bed, or a teenager who says he is going to do something you
have forbidden. You have the obligation to God and to the child to
check that type of behavior. "He that spareth the rod hateth his
son; but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes" (Prov. 13:24).
The rebellious son of Deuteronomy 21:18-21 was stoned to death
because he was incorrigible. Many fit this description today simply
because their conduct was seen by parents as being cute, merely a
part of a phase, or unworthy of attention. Therefore, in the
formative years, rebellion had the stamp of approval. The product
of such "rearing" then proceeds through life shaking his first at
society, government and God.
In every society parental authority has been accepted as an
indispensable prerequisite of social stability. Any tendency that
swerves from this principle is a mark of a decadent society (Rom.
1:30; 2 Tim. 3:1,2). If responsible citizenship and godliness are
not taught in the home, the foundation of society will crumble and
disaster will ensue.
Civil Authority
Children must be taught to obey the laws of the land (Rom.
13:1-7; 1 Pet. 2:13-15). Civil government exists as a divine
ordinance, and we must recognize this. God doesn't place every
ruler in office or approve each judicial function, but leaders of
human society represent the authority of God on earth. Though
earthly governments become corrupt and tyrannical, this doesn't
disprove their divine origin.
"Every soul," every intelligent member of society, is under
obligation to obey governmental authority. The Caesars, who were
generally corrupt and evil, were reigning in Rome; yet by
inspiration, Paul wrote, "Be subject to the higher powers." The
only exception to this is when authority conflicts with spiritual
law (Acts 5:29).
The rebel against civil law is a rebel against divine law.
Government is an ordinance of God, and rulers are ministers of God.
This business of lawlessness in the name of justice, immorality in
the name of individuality, and disobedience in the name of progress
is not true to God's word. To disobey civil law indicates an
undisciplined life that leads to vice and dissipation.
The young person who has geared his set of values to approve
conduct which is harmful to himself and others is certainly not
developing a set of values which will improve his character. By
continually accepting such standards and values, he has weakened
his conscience and taught himself that it is good to do wrong. More
and more he forms habits that connect him with evil and a lack of
restraint. Further and further he plunges into the darkness and
away from the light. He is gambling with his soul with high odds
against him.
Divine Authority
Parents are commanded to "nurture" their children, cause them
to grow and develop in the "chastening and admonition of the Lord"
(Eph. 6:4). This is a sadly neglected duty. It brings irreparable
and immeasurable injury to children. Parents can commit no greater
sin against their children than to fail to lead them to love and
obey the Lord.
Instruction from parent to child is not passive, nor
transferable, and is an obligation that cannot be overdone in
regard to spiritual matters. The child's character lies in our
hands, as clay in the hand of the potter. As the child is molded
and shaped, so will be the adult. We have the power to shape their
eternal destiny. The responsibility is often taken too lightly, and
we are faced with the national problem of child neglect, abuse,
delinquency, moral degeneration and spiritual reprobates. To
neglect children is criminal in nature and usually disastrous in
results.
Parents must firmly anchor their children in the faith, if they
are to stand against social pressures, regarding activities and
dress, in this materialistic and sexually-oriented society (2 Cor.
6:14-18). If a parent loves his child's soul, he will teach the
child that he must be different from those around him and must not
compromise that difference. Emphasis should not be placed on
recreation or material values, but salvation. Children should be
taught that life is real, life is earnest, and the grave is not the
end (Eccl. 12:1; Rom. 14:12).
Under the Law of Moses parents were instructed to teach
incessantly, "And these words which I command thee this day shall
be in thine heart: and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy
children, and shall talk of them when thou sittest in thine house,
and when thou walkest by the way and when thou liest down, and when
thou riseth up" (Deut. 6:6-7). Notice, first, that these words were
to be, not simply in a book, but "in thine heart." God's word must
dwell in the heart of parents for them to be able to teach them
effectively to their children! Secondly, they were to "teach it
diligently unto thy children." They were not to teach them
carelessly or indifferently, but they were to teach them with
painstaking care.
Youth's education is not complete without a knowledge of the
Bible. With all the knowledge of the world (science, human
philosophy, the fine arts, mathematics, history and literature)
man, without self-control and submission to God, is only a refined
animal. Education is without a true foundation unless based upon a
knowledge of God and the principles of the Bible. We must seek to
instill in our children a basic knowledge and understanding of
God's will (Prov. 4:5,7), a love for the truth (2 Thess. 2:10), and
an attitude of complete submission to God.
When parents give their children good instruction and, at the
same time set a bad example, they could be compared to bringing
food in one hand and poison in the other. Such a parent is a
hypocrite, and no one will spot the hypocrisy quicker than the
child who lives under the same roof. He is practically guaranteeing
that his child will one day repudiate him and all he stands for.
Train your children to respect God's word while they are young.
We have them such a short time and the opportunities are limited,
and they pass so quickly. Today they are babes in arms, and
tomorrow they are gone out to meet the world. Begin while they are
in the cradle. The patterns of life are so soon set. We must
develop and refine standards of social behavior and a moral value
system, so that the child will be able to accept the restraints he
will be living under as an adult and, of course, as a Christian.
Conclusion
It's high time we parents, Christians, and children take a hard
look at this whole business of authority and how it affects the
welfare of our homes, schools, churches, the nation and our
individual lives. Let all of us as parents humbly lift our voices
to God, seeking wisdom from above in the rearing of our children.
-- Via Guardian of Truth XXXIII: 12, pp. 355-356, June 15, 1989
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-2-
News & Notes
Let those of us who are Christians be praying for R.J. Evans
and the corrective surgery he will be having September 17 for a
hernia that was formed by a previous incision. R.J. is hoping this
can be done as a laparoscopic hernia repair -- instead of requiring
a larger incision. If so, he will be going home the same day; if
not, he will probably have to remain a day or two in the hospital.
I'm healing very well from the triple by-pass that I had
September 5, and I appreciate everyone's prayers and
thoughtfulness. It was good to return to church September 12,
though I am not to resume preaching and teaching for about a 4-week
total.
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MYRTLE STREET CHURCH OF CHRIST
1022 Myrtle Street
Denham Springs, LA 70726
(225) 664-8208
Sunday: 9:15 AM, 10:00 AM, 4:00 PM
Wednesday: 7:00 PM
evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (225) 667-4520
e-mail: tedwards at onemain.com
web site: http://home.onemain.com/~tedwards/go
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