Click here to play today’s new podcast episode.
"A mind without instruction can no more bear fruit than can a field, however fertile, without cultivation." ~ Marcus Tullius Cicero
Instruction, our word for today, is the act of giving practical leadership. Instruction teaches one how to do something, how to apply wisdom and skill to life and the steps to do something. It provides practical steps to take.
For example, we wanted our children to be hospitable. It’s one thing to want to tell people about Christ. It is quite another to instruct them: to know how to reach out, start a conversation, put people at ease. Manners are the vehicles through which we act out honoring others, to grant them the respect they deserve as a fellow human being. Manners give the confidence to know how to act towards someone.
We spoke to our children of cultivating a life that says “welcome.” To welcome means to grant a sense of pleasure for someone’s presence.
By giving our children an image of “a life that says welcome” was the foundation for manners they learned. We instructed that we honor others made in God’s image because they had great worth to God . To extend hospitality & courtesy to others was a way to extend the heart of Christ to others. “A heart prepared to say, ’Welcome’" greets each weary traveler as to help drag heavy suitcases up our entry steps. They will find a bottle of water, a card, a chocolate, a fresh towel, a candle lit to bring fragrance to the room.. Candles flicker, music softly wafts through the air. Chocolate almonds, tiny wrapped gouda cheeses all say, "you are a valued person. We want you to find rest and peace as you enter our home." Practically we instructed them in having a heart for manners.
II Timothy 4:2 say: Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.”
When a child is not instructed, it will exasperate them, (frustrate them), because they will not have the knowledge, insight or understanding to give them confidence on how to live life skillfully. Most important is instructing them practically in areas of faith and wisdom.
Join me today in my podcast pondering how to understand the importance of instruction for living lives that can flourish..
