Let's Talk Obedience

   

     Obedience.... this is probably one of my favorite character qualities.  It is such an important one to learn.  We really can't teach the rest of the character qualities until this one is taught and understood.  A word related to obedience is submit.  We must understand that we are to do what we are told to do by God without asking questions and without delay,  just as we expect our children to obey without hesitation.

     God has commanded us to obey Him.  In our obedience we are showing Him love and respect.   I am reminded of these verses found in Deuteronomy:

See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse— the blessing if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today;  the curse if you disobey the commands of the Lord your God and turn from the way that I command you today by following other gods, which you have not known. ~ Deuteronomy 11:26-28

     We must teach our children to obey.  If they will not obey our voices, how will they learn to obey the voice of the Holy Spirit.  We also need to teach our children God's commandments so they know how they are to obey Him.  They need to know God's ways in order to know what is a sin.  If they follow men blindly and obey them, but do not know God's Word, they may do something that is against God's Word.  

     Children need to know why obedience is so important.  First it is a way to show God how much we love him, as it says in 1 John 5:3 ~In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome.  It is also a way to show love and respect for those God has placed over you.  They need to be taught that disobedience can lead to harm physically and spiritually.  Sit down and talk with your children about why they should obey God and why they should obey you as their parents first.  Tell them that God and you only want what is best for them and that is why they need to trust you and obey when you give a command.  Then explain why it is important for them to obey other authority figures in their lives, like their teachers, policemen, and others.  Kids like to ask questions.  Let them ask you questions now, but when it comes time to obey, tell them it is important to obey first and ask questions later.  

     I do have a fun game to help training little ones in obedience.  It is called Red Light, Green Light.  Take a couple sheets of paper, one red and one green and cut them out to look like stop signs.  Write Stop on the red one and Go on the green one.  Have them stand about 20 feet in front of you and tell them to watch the signs as well as listening to your voice command.  When they hear Go and see the go sign, they are to walk towards you, until they hear stop and see the stop sign.  Tell them they are to stop immediately! Keep repeating until one of them make it to you. This is a fun way to start obedience training in your home.