In a letter to the believers in the city of Ephesus, the apostle Paul instructs the children to obey their parents, “for this is right.” To do something because it is the right thing to do is what we teach James. Along with this, our aim is that he develops a life-long love of righteousness. There are natural consequences to wrong behavior, as well as the consequence of punishment. These are definitely motivations to do the right thing, but we don’t want those to be his main motivation.
It was said of Jesus, “You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; therefore God, your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness.” I don’t know what “the oil of gladness” is, but it sure sounds good to me. To love righteousness, to love truth, is what I hope for my son.
And to show that the parents of this house follow this philosophy also — Just as I was writing this post, I see Jack putting on socks and I ask if he is getting on the treadmill. He replies, “I was thinking about it because it’s the right thing to do.” I promise that he had no clue about the topic of this post. Isn’t it a beautiful thing?
