“Obey the Lord our God and everything will turn out well for
you." ~ Jeremiah 42:6
As a kid, I loved going to the
‘Golden Spike’ drive-in movie theatre. My parents would often take me and my little brother
Joey on Friday nights. It was a great
respite from the summer Nebraska heat. Part
of the attraction was that the movies didn’t start until after sunset, so we
got to stay up way past our bedtime.
The parking lot was terraced into small mounds so we could
park our car upwards toward the giant screen. A post with a speaker was nearby, and Dad
would back our station wagon in and hang the speaker on the door. We always tried to arrive early enough so
that we could ride the train that pulled carloads of excited kids around the
parking lot until it was time to watch the coming attractions and snack bar
ads.
Joey and I would change into our pajamas before the movie
started; we’d be sound asleep before the movie ended. Mom and Dad sat in lawn chairs in front of us to
catch the summer breeze. My brother and
I would lie on our stomachs in the back of the car to watch the movie.
On the night I
remember, the theatre was particularly busy.
A long line awaited us moving slower than three-legged turtles. It seemed to take forever. When it was finally our turn to pay, the
young man in the ticket booth shouted, “That’ll be $1.50 each for you, your
wife and any kid seven or older. Kids six
and under get in free. How old are the
boys?"
My Dad replied, "One’s seven and the other’s five. I guess I owe you $4.50."
The man in the booth winked at my Dad. “Hey mister, they both look under seven to me. You could’ve saved yourself $1.50; I wouldn't
have known the difference."
Then my Dad said something I’ll never forget. "Yes, that may be true, but my boys
would have known the difference."
There’s little value placed on truth today. Deception has become commonly accepted in
advertising, in politics, in sports, and the list could go on ‘ad infinitem.’ Setting a good example for young people
(whether as a parent, teacher coach, etc.) is the key to building good
character.
Kid’s listen to what you say … but they BELIEVE how role
models behave. And someone who does one
thing but expects or demands the opposite from a child is more likely to have
discipline problems and more likely to punish excessively in an effort to
overcome the influence of his or her own poor modeling.
Dear Lord, I want to be the best role model
possible to my children and to the members of my church. Give me wisdom to know when to speak and when
to listen to those around me, that You may be honored and glorified in all that
I do. Amen
