Paradise Cafe Discussions - A Place For Bible Research And Christian Encouragement

Good afternoon one and all ... :hibye::grouphug:

Let's see what goodies are in store for the text today ... :eat::read:

The Scripture text is from Prov. 6:20 ...

''Observe, O my son, the commandment of your father, and do not forsake the law of your mother.''

Watchtower comments ...

''The Bible shows that God considers young children to be holy even if only one of their parents is a faithful Christian. (I Cor. 7:14) Does that make such children dedicated servants of Jehovah? No. However, children who are raised by parents who are dedicated to Jehovah receive training that can lead those children to make a voluntary dedication to Jehovah. The guidance of Christian parents can be a protection for youngsters, provided they are willing to follow it. Solomon stated: ''You, O my son, hear and become wise, and lead your heart on in the way,'' (Prov. 23:19) Yes, to benefit from parental training, you young ones must willingly accept advice, council and discipline. You are not born wise, but you can ''become wise'' and voluntarily follow ''the way of life.'' Prov. 6:23. w7/1/06 3,4a

My comments ...

Indeed as the Watchtower's comments say ... children can truly benefit when their parents strive to the best of their ability to bring them up in the discipline and training that comes from God's Word.

So, then it is important for not only the children to pay attention and listen, but for parents as well ... for how could they pass on what they learn if they don't ...:read::dontknow:

For a sec or two I thought to mention something that just popped into mind as to the beginning of the Scriptural verse ... :read:

''Observe, O my son, the commandment of your father, ..."

The Hebrew word for 'observe' or 'keep' as some Bibles render it is ... natsar ...

a prim. root; to guard, in a good sense (to protect, maintain, obey, etc.) observe, preserve (-r), subtil,watcher (-man)

So, observe of course doesn't just mean to SEE something ... although how many of us ... children included ... look to 'see' the conduct of others ... and how many once doing so can spot a 'sincere' person who is trying to live up to what he says :)... or a 'hypocritical or insincere' person whose action bely what he says ... :(

It also means to 'obey' ... especially would this be so if what was said was based on what we know to be right and true ...

I find it interesting to note that it can also mean 'TO PROTECT' ... yes, when good principles or rules are laid down for us by our parents when we are children ... and we 'obey or heed' them ... are we not protected from harmful things ...

Ex. ... don't touch the fire ... it's hot ... it will burn you ...

And if we develop 'good sense' as we grow ... then indeed we will OBERVE or SEE the benefits of listening to such wise words words ... be they coming from either parent ...

Now if we take this Scripture to apply to ALL OF GOD'S CHILDREN for are we ... even though we have now grown to adulthood still children to our heavenly Father ... we can see a 'wider' application ...

Jesus suggested us to become 'as children' ... WHY ... so that we would perhaps see the wisdom in the importance of LISTENING and OBEYING our heavenly Father ... so that we would not get caught up in our 'own' wisdom ... but always rely on the wisdom that comes from above ... thus benefiting ourselves each and every day all day ...:cheer:

So, let us as parents always remember to that saying ...

ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS ...

Let us 'actions' PROVE what sort of persons we are ... children who obey God's word no matter how 'old' we may be ...

And NOT live by the old adage ...

DO AS I SAY ... NOT AS I DO ...

For is not the person who lives by such a 'code' ... in reality rather a hypocrite ...? And we know how our Lord felt about such ones don't we ...? :shocked::angry:

May this day prove once again that we truly love our Father and his Son and are seeking to worship in spirit and truth out of a pure and complete heart ...!! :heartbeat::cheer:

Luv as always ... BR :sheepy: :bouncyhearts:

hey BR,

I don't want to derail. your great sunday commentary..

But I feel that I must let you know that sometimes a person is doing the best they can when they tell you to "do as I say not as I do"

My Mom used to say that to me all the time. and Yes I though she was a hypocrite. and we fought because of it.

But as I grew older I realized that she had the very best of motives in sayin it.

She knew what was good for me to do, yet do to her own short comings couldn't be the example she wanted to be.. for me.
:heartbeat:

Hi there TD ... :hibye::love:

I 'hear' you my brother ... and what an understanding and loving heart you have to now be able to feel that way even though as a 'child' you were not able to ... :heartbeat:

The kind of 'attitude' though that I was thinking about was those who say those words while NOT trying to change or help themselves stop a wrong kind of conduct or whatever it may be ...

For example, the Scribes and Pharisees KNEW what the law said ... and some even possibly understood the SPIRIT of the law ... but instead of seeing that JEHOVAH'S laws were enough for the people ... they added to it ... and spoke about all the things the people should be doing and thinking ... and yet they themselves must not have believed it in their hearts ... for why else would our Lord condemn them so strongly for being hypocrites ...?

I hope this kinda explains the type of 'hypocrisy' I was speaking about ... not in a 'condemning' way of people ... just an observation ...:giverose:

Children so tend to pick up on ANY kind of 'double-talk' if you will ... and indeed it does cause confusion and upset ... and is of course something that we as Christians want to minimize as much as possible ... seeking to set a good example for our children to copy ... just as Christ set for us!! :D

Luv ya bro ... and thanks so much for your comment seeking a balanced attitude ... one we all need to strive to have ... ;):thumbup:

BR ... :sheepy: :bouncyhearts: