Is That My Phone Ringing?

With such an abundance of cell phones these days it is funny to watch folks in a room jump and scramble, and dig through their purses franticly saying, “Is that mine?” when a common ringer goes off.

Ephesians 6:1-3 says, “Children obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honor thy father and thy mother; which is the first commandment with promise; that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long upon the earth.”

As children and young people and even young adults, it is easy to skim over these well known verses. But it is not enough to grow up in church and know all the Bible stories and Sunday School songs. You must know God in your life as your personal Savior, not just as the God of your parents. It’s not about works, it’s about obeying His Word, and to do that, we must take it literally. In the above verses, the word “obey” means in the Greek, “to conform to the command of authority.” There is something about the spirit of youth that does not want to conform. In fact, that’s the last thing we want. We want to be different; we are absorbed with discovering new ways and following the world’s beckoning call of “finding ourselves.” But, that’s not what the Lord says. “Children; conform!” If what your parents tell you to do is in the boundaries of God’s law, conform! God gave you parents to lead, to guide and to protect you. Maturity is the measure of how well you obey and conform to their commands.

Colossians 3:20 says for children to obey their parents, “in all things.” In looking that up in the Greek as well, I discovered that it meant quite literally, “in all things.” If you want to please the Lord, obey your parents. If you do things outside the boundaries of your parent’s permission and blessing then you are not pleasing the Lord, even if you seem to be doing His work. Now that really takes faith doesn’t it?

The characteristics of a disobedient child are not hard to miss, but they are hard to stop once they have been nurtured. Take a few moments and examine your own heart and ask yourself if it’s your phone that is ringing today.

A disobedient child…

Brings dishonor. Proverbs 3:35, “The wise shall inherit glory, but shame shall be the promotion of the fools.”
Practices wickedness as though he is playing a game. Proverbs 10:23, “It is a sport to a fool to do mischief: but a man of understanding hath wisdom.”
Trusts his own heart. Proverbs 28:26, “He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered.”
Is filled with pride. Proverbs 14:16, “A wiseman feareth and departeth from evil: but the fool rageth and is confident.”
He will always believe that he is right. Proverbs 12:16, “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise.”
Unable to control his speech. Proverbs 18:6-7. “A fool’s lips enter into contention, and his mouth calleth for strokes. A fool’s mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul.”

If your phone is ringing, answer it.

Posted on 11/17/2007 under Pastor Cornett's Blog. Comments RSS feed.
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