My son is a teenager, dealing with all of those teenage challenges at school. In the past, he was able to skate by with minimal effort. He didn’t need to work hard to get good grades. It came easily to him. But now, things are a bit more challenging. He has to be disciplined to get the results he wants. One day, I chastised him to keep the pressure on. I wanted him to know how important it is that he prepare, study, and “put in the work.” Then it occurred to me, God is teaching me the same lesson! I had just been invited to be a guest speaker and didn’t prepare adequately. My presentation suffered because I didn’t put in the work and prayer beforehand. The same lesson I was teaching my son, God was teaching me.

It is important to teach our kids to do what is right. But it is just as important to be living examples of the lessons we’re trying to instill. It was inconsistent of me to hound Chris to do his homework when he knew that I wasn’t doing mine. I told him to work hard but I was giving less than my best.

Regardless of if you have children or not, you are watched. Your example matters. And, where it matters most is in regard to being God’s child. As His kid, we need to not just talk about His commands to love and serve one another. We need to live them. That’s how we’ll reach our world.

This is Andrew Palau.