There’s a lot of people who have sent me wonderful comments concerning the Sunday School Lesson portion of the website. As much as I appreciate the love, it would be remiss of me to act as if I do it all by myself. My wife and I are both students in the Young Adult Sunday School class at Blueridge Baptist Church in Houston (Southside!), Rev. Ceola Curley, Jr. Pastor. This is the church that we both grew up in and have attended since our childhood and it’s also where we have our kids learning about the Lord. I must confess, my early childhood memories of church would have been mostly bad if it wasn’t for Sunday School. I enjoyed the conversational interaction of learning about God’s Word in a classroom much more than the ‘sit down, be quiet and listen while the preacher is preaching’ that you get from the congregational worship service. Blueridge Baptist Church is known for being a strong teaching church. From my first days in the Beginner’s class with Sis. A.White, through the primary boys class with Bro. Wallace and later Sis. Thompson and Sis. Jones, to the junior boys class with Bro. Nolan Jones, to the Seniors class with Sis. Green and Sis. Jones and currently the Young Adults class with Bro. and Sis. Washington, I have had always had a constant source of Bible fellowship and direction. My current Sunday School teachers have a special place in my heart, because not only are they my Sunday School teachers and fellow Believers in Jesus Christ, but they are also my parents.
As a child, going to church was not an option for my sister and I, we HAD to go. Some people feel that this is wrong, and that you shouldn’t force a religion on your children. But the Bible that my family abides by, says that we should train up our children in the way that they should go, so that when they grow old, they will not depart from it. My parents were also real firm advocates in administering that rod to disobedient children. I happened to be one of those EXTREMELY hard headed lil boys that was always doing MY thang. My father often tells people today that they usually had to ‘tighten me up’ with at least 3 whuppings a day, usually all before noon. For those that see ‘spankings’ and ‘whuppings’ as cruel punishment for children, you need to look at me. Because I know that if God didn’t give me the mother and father who laid down the law and put those belts and switches on my az like they did, I would be a LOT worse off than I am today. All kids don’t need to ‘catch whuppings’, some kids respond to reason and ‘time out’. But for those hard headed boys like myself? I NEEDED those whuppings just to make me pay attention. If I didn’t get them, I would have remained under my cloak of selfishness and ignorance.
My parents didn’t whup me just for being a child. Because kids will be kids. But whenever I crossed the line and did something that I KNEW I wasn’t supposed to be doing? That’s when they’d go get that belt and put something on my butt to make sure I remembered that I was doing wrong. Of all the lessons that my parents instilled in me and my older sister, they all traced back to the Bible and God’s laws for man. And one of the first laws that my parents demanded, was that children were to OBEY their parents. If my parents told me to do something, there was no room for discussion or debate, I just did it. I look at how a lot of kids today ignore their parents command or even go so far as to say, ‘No!’ and I’m amazed. Because if I even acted like I was ignoring or being disobedient to my parents command, either one of them would snatch my az up from wherever I was and put that ‘act right’ on me.
This discipline was not confined to our household. My parents were strong advocates in the whole ‘it takes a village to raise a child’ philosophy. Whenever they left me in the care of a relative or friend, they would always part with the same instructions…
If he doesn’t mind you, you need to whup him. And after you whup him, make sure you tell us what he did so that we can whup him too!!
My parents made sure that I didn’t have a way around the rules that they required. Kids are so easy to hasten to the path of least resistance and a united front of discipline is a necessity. From my parents to my grandmother and grandfather, to my Aunt Effie Jean, to my Aunt Marjorie, even to my bus driver Ms. Haynesworth, all the people that had charge over me to administer discipline. We’re at a day and age now where few communities engage in this consolidated discipline.
Don’t put your mf hands on MY child!!!
When kids know that they are protected from being disciplined, they’re going to take advantage of this ‘immunity’ to the fullest. I can’t tell anybody how to raise their children, but of all of my family and friends that are helping me raise MY kids today, they already know that I’m ‘old school’ and I’m a firm believer that if we spare the rod, we will definitely spoil the child.
I constantly thank God for giving me parents that loved me enough to make sure that I was taught what was right. Because for whuppings to be effective, they’ve got to be reinforced with hugs and love. Parents that go from the extremes of completely ignoring their children, to whupping them unmercifully are sometimes doing more harm than good. Because the thing that kids need most is love and guidance. They are little people who are trying to find their way in the world and parents are the natural teachers. So then the question comes, what religion are we supposed to teach them?
I believe the first thing a person needs to do, is to diligently study and learn about whatever it is the faith you claim is really professing. Are they abiding by the Bible? Do they have other books which are required for their faith?
Those who believe that the Bible is God’s Word, know that it is complete and sufficient for all of our needs. You don’t need a ‘chaser’ to go along with the Bible, it’s a full course meal. So once you start studying the Word of God, then you just have to get in where you fit in. and whenever a congregation or minister is doing something that is AGAINST the Word of God? That let’s you know right there that it’s not where you should be. This doesn’t mean that you should let PEOPLE deter you from your worship of God. Sometimes you might have to just spend time in a room by yourself studying the Bible and praying for understanding. The key point is that if you acknowledge that there IS a God and that the Bible is God’s Word, then you should rekindle your passion for God by acknowledging Him and applauding Him.
The easiest thing to do is to fool yourself, ‘Yeah, I believe in God, but religion is all man made, so I’m not going to ANY church. I’mma just chill at the house on the weekends.’ Praying only when you’re about to eat, ‘God is great, God is good…’ or going to bed, ‘Now I lay me down to sleep..’. This was the trap of indifference that I had fallen into for a large part of my adult life. I believed, but I did not pursue Him. I did not praise Him. I did not applaud Him. I did not worship Him. I did not serve Him. But once I started experiencing some of those trials in life that we all must go through, the pain became unbearable and I knew I had to bow down and acknowledge my Creator. Because it was during these dark and hard times, that all of the teachings that I had learned in Sunday School classes came back to me and I was strengthened. And once I made up my mind, to rekindle my passion for God, there was a marvelous thing that happened. I found an inward peace and joy that no one can ever take away from me. This peace had nothing to do with my job performance, or my credit rating or my stock portfolio. This peace had nothing to do with how well my wife and I were getting along, or how my kids were doing. The peace that I found is the gift of knowing that I have a Redeemer.
The simple fact is that everybody has 3 parts that comprises our being. Our body, our soul and our spirit. A lot of us exercise and work out regularly, eat healthy and do the things we need to do to say in good shape. That’s taking care of the body, which is a good thing. A lot of us also go out and do charitable things for those in need. Volunteering our time and/or resources for those who are without. That is the part that is reflective of our heart and soul and that’s a good thing to. But too often people completely ignore or refrain from strengthening the spiritual portion of their being. They seldom pray or read the Bible or seek to grow stronger in their relationship with God. In essence, they are spiritually dead. They know that it’s there, but they refuse to address their spiritual needs. Instead they lock that spirit in a back closet and completely ignore it as they go about the ‘important’ things in life.
I understand that everyone wasn’t raised in a circle of strong Christian believers like I was. I understand that everyone doesn’t have parents who are Sunday School teachers or uncles who are ministers and pastors, or aunt’s who sing in the choir and serve on the usher board. We all arrived to this point on our own different paths. The key is that we’re all here, right now, and everyone has the opportunity to rekindle their passion in God and diligently seek His will. Parents have an even greater responsibility because we have to teach our children right from wrong. If you don’t have a religion, or canon that will guide you along the path, then you’re wandering aimlessly. If you feel lost and you don’t know where to turn because you just can’t trust any MAN, then you just need to get down on your knees and seek guidance from the Lord in your prayers. All you have to do is seek Him and you’ll find Him. Just don’t fool yourself into thinking that you ‘believe’, when really all you want to do is whateva YOU want to do. That was the pit I had fallen in, and that’s why I love the Lord so much, because He heard my cry and delivered me.
With Him, I have peace, I have joy, I have love and I have hope. Without Him, I had NONE of those things. When it’s all said and done and it’s my time to go before the Eternal Judge, and I’ve got my lawyer Jesus Christ representing me, I just want to hear Him say, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant.’
