Children, Obey Your Parents (Colossians 3:20)

Transcription

1 Children, Obey Your Parents (Colossians 3:20) As we continue our walk through Paul s letter to the Colossians, we find ourselves this morning face to face with this verse Colossians 3:20 (KJV) 20 Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord. This morning, we re going to be doing things a bit different. This morning, I m going to be talking directly to you children and teenagers. And I m going to do so while many of your parents listen in. This ought to be real comfortable, eh? Why would I do such a thing, you may ask? Well, this is what Paul did. Think about it. When the apostle Paul wrote his letter to the church in the city of Colossae, he didn t write to the parents telling them to make sure their children obeyed. No. He addressed the young people in the church directly, didn t he? Colossians 3:20 (KJV) 20 Children, obey your parents This means You young people aren t just accessories your parents bring to church. No. You are responsible citizens and God expects you to obey your parents. This morning, I want us to answer 3 main questions together, and here they are: 1. Why should you obey? 2. How should you obey? 3. When should you obey? Are you ready? I hope so, because here we go 1

2 The first question: I. Why Should You Obey? The first answer: 1. Because it will please God This is what we see in our main verse this morning Colossians 3:20 (KJV) 20 Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord. Do you want to please God? Then make this your priority: Obey your parents. A second reason you should obey? 2. Because it will please your parents Jesus said in John 14:15 (KJV) 15 If ye love me, keep my commandments. Why did Jesus say that? Because obeying Him shows you love Him. Well, it s really not that different when it comes to your parents. If you love your parents, you will make every effort to obey them. The third reason you should obey? 3. Because it will be better for you Some of you are like, Better for me? I don t think so. But that s what the Bible says Ephesians 6:1-3 (KJV) 1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. 2 Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; 3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. If you obey your parents, generally speaking, you will have a better life. The future you will thank the you of today if you will obey. 2

3 The second question I want us to answer together: II. How Should You Obey? The first answer: 1. Without delay obey right away When your mother tells you to stop picking on your brother or sister, is it okay to get a final few jabs in? Is it okay to pick on them just a little bit longer? No. When your mother tells you to stop, you know she means right away. For you to delay obeying her would really be not obeying her at all. When your father asks you to shut off the video game because Supper s ready, is it okay to spend another 10 minutes trying to finish the level you re on? No. When your father asks you to shut the game off, you know he means right away. Once again, your delayed obedience would really NOT be obedience at all. Kids and Teens, here s what you need to do Obey right away. The second way we should obey? 2. Without laziness obey fully When your mother tells you to clean your room, is it okay to just shove everything under your bed and in your closet? No. When your mother tells you to clean your room, you know what she means. She means putting everything in its proper place. But instead of obeying fully, we all have a tendency to only obey partially. And partial obedience really isn t obedience at all, is it? No. It s just laziness. When your father tells you on Monday, not to run around outside in your sock feet, is it okay to run around outside in your sock feet on Tuesday? No. 3

4 When your dad tells you to wear shoes outside, or at least to go in your bare feet, you know that it isn t a one-time rule, right? But, once again Instead of obeying fully, we all have a tendency to only obey partially. And partial obedience really isn t obedience at all, is it? No. Kids and Teens, here s what you need to do Obey fully. The third way we should obey? 3. Without attitude obey willingly When your mother asks you to help her clean the dishes, is it okay to grumble and complain the entire time you re helping her? No. When your mother asks you for some help, you should be willing, and even happy, to pitch in and lend her a hand. Why? Because part of loving someone, is wanting to make their life easier. Instead, we re often selfish, aren t we? And we often show our selfishness by having a bad attitude. When your parents decide the party you want to go to on Friday night isn t appropriate, and tell you that you re not allowed to go, is it okay to agree to not go, but stomp away mad and lock yourself in your room? No. You may think your bad attitude will make it harder for them to say no next time, but the truth is, your bad attitude will only show them you lack the maturity and self-control necessary to make wise decisions. In fact, a bad attitude may make it less likely they ll trust you the next time to make a decision on your own. Listen, God wants you to not only obey your parents with your hands and feet, but also with your heart. He wants you to obey with a good attitude. When you re asked to do something, you should willingly obey with joy. Why with joy? Because obeying your parents is actually obeying God. Kids and Teens, here s what you need to do Obey willingly. 4

5 The third question I want us to answer together: III. When Should You Obey? The first answer: 1. Even when you re alone When your parents go away for the weekend, and they say not to have friends over, is it okay to disobey them since they ll never find out the difference? No. When your father disciplines you by taking away your cell phone, or maybe your favorite toy, is it okay to use it when he s not looking? No. Even if your parents never find out, disobeying them is still obviously wrong. And what this sneakiness says about your heart should also be obvious: If you disobey your parents most, when you think they won t find out, then you re obeying for the wrong reasons you re obeying to avoid punishment. But God wants you to think differently. He wants you to obey primarily because it s the right thing to do. Kids and Teens, here s what you need to do Obey, even when you re alone. The second answer to when you should obey? 2. Even when you re busy When your father needs you to spend Saturday helping him cut up wood, when you already had made plans with your friends, is it okay to refuse? No. When your mother asks you to take out the garbage, when you re already in the middle of making the coolest Lego castle ever, is it okay to say no? No. God doesn t say, Children, obey your parents unless you re really busy. God doesn t say, Children, obey your parents as long as it s convenient. God says, Children, obey your parents in all things. 5

6 Even if you re busy with something else, obeying your parents must become the priority. Kids and Teens, here s what you need to do Obey, even when you re busy. The third answer to when you should obey? 3. Even when you re right When your father tells you to clean up the mess your brother made, is it okay to disobey because it s not your mess? No. When your mother tells you to go to your room because you were caught fighting with your sister, is it okay to stomp away and slam the door because you didn t start the fight? No. Listen You need to obey your parents, even if you feel your parents aren t being fair. You need to obey your parents, even if your parents actually aren t being fair. You need to obey your parents, even if you feel your parents aren t right. And, you need to obey your parents, even if your parents actually aren t right. This is a difficult thing to do. But it s what God wants you to do. Whether or not your parents are fair, or even right, is not the question. Whether you will obey your parents, regardless of that fact, is the question. Now, there is an exception to this: If your parents were to ask you to disobey God, we know from the Bible that we need to obey God rather than our parents. But, this is quite rare. For the most part Kids and Teens, here s what you need to do Obey, even when you re right. 6