Obedience; I do what I am told without grumbling.
Ephesians 6:1, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.”
Obedience is a hard lesson to teach, and also a hard lesson to learn. As parents, we tend to think of obedience as a character trait we desire to see in our children, which is a good thing to desire. However, when we consider how hard obedience is for us as adults, it gives us more grace and compassion for our children who are fairly new to the idea of obedience to authority.
Anyone of us could be guilty of getting angry with an authority figure over us, be it your boss at work, or a cop flashing the blue lights at you, or the mechanic when they tell us what work must be done and the cost for that work. It brings up all kinds of stress and emotions, and there is something in us that wants to rebel against these authority figures. Our desire to rebel is more based out of our sinfulness, whereas our young children do not have a full, mature grasp of what obedience is and why it is important.
Understanding the “why” behind something is so important. None of us ever feel satisfied giving or receiving the answer, “because I said so.” Once we know why something is important, it becomes more important to us. Why is obedience so important for our children to comprehend and practice? Letting them know that our authority is meant to help keep them safe, teach them what is right and wrong, and give them a firm foundation to build their life upon.
This week, we will be looking at the story of the Fall of Mankind, and the role that disobedience played. As we teach your children from Genesis 3, we will be talking about how important obedience is to God, and why it is important to obey our parents. Our aim will be to teach our Heritage children the “Why” of obedience, and our prayer is that these biblical truths and character traits would take root in their heart, and be present all the days of their lives.
