When my daughter was a little girl, we
used to play a game called Monkey See,
Monkey Do.
Where if Daddy put his hands over his
mouth, daughter would do the same.
If Daddy put his hands over his eyes,
daughter would do the same.
Some of you friends may have played that
little children's game, Monkey See, Monkey Do as
well.
In fact, I recently came across a little
bookmark that my daughter made for me when
she was a child.
It has pictures of monkeys all over it,
and my daughter had written on the front
of it the following inscription, I love you,
Monkey See, Monkey Do.
The title of my message today, friends, is
Raising Godly Kids in a Godless World.
And my text can be found in the
book of Proverbs in chapter 22, and in
verse 6, which reads, train up a child
in the way he should go, and when
he is old, he will not depart from
it.
And my theme today, friends, is very simple
and practical.
It is this, Monkey See, Monkey Do.
But first, let me finish the sentence, Monkey
See, Monkey Do, monkey get in trouble too.
If your kids see you drink beer and
wine, they will want to drink beer and
wine, just like Daddy.
If your kids see you telling lies to
others, they will want to lie, just like
Daddy.
If your kids see you pulling a cheat
on someone, they will become cheaters, just like
Daddy.
If your kids see you watching questionable and
objectionable entertainment on TV, your kids will want
to watch the same kind of movies, just
like Daddy.
If your kids see you take something that
doesn't belong to you, and you don't return
it, then your kids will steal, just like
Daddy.
If your kids see you losing your temper
at your spouse, then your kids will lose
their temper with others, just like Daddy.
Monkey See, Monkey Do, monkey get in trouble
too.
You are building long-term memories into your
children, whether you realize it or not, they're
watching you and paying attention.
Conversely, if your kids see you much in
prayer, they will want to become persons of
prayer, just like Daddy.
If your kids see you studying your Bible,
then they will want to be students of
the Bible, just like Daddy.
If your kids see your patience and gentleness
toward your spouse, then your kids will be
patient and gentle with their spouse, just like
Daddy.
If your kids see you giving to others
in a selfless way, then your kids will
be givers, just like Daddy.
If your kids see you witnessing to others
about Jesus, then your kids will want to
share Jesus, just like Daddy.
If your kids see you take a stand
for God, then there will come a day
when they will take a stand for God,
just like Daddy, because Monkey See, Monkey Do,
monkey do some good too.
Some of you may be shaking your heads
and saying to yourself that you wish parenting
was that easy, but it's not that simple,
because some little monkeys are more troublesome than
others.
But the point I'm trying to make, friends,
is this, whether we realize it or not,
how we act and behave in front of
our children, will teach them good examples or
bad examples that they'll take with them for
the rest of their life.
My daughter grew up seeing me in prayer.
She was watching me always handing out gospel
tracts to strangers.
She usually found me with my Bible in
my lap before God.
Instead of finding me in front of a
godless TV, she has memories of me holding
her hand and praying with her, singing hymns
with her, drawing Bible stories with crayons with
her, and sharing Bible verses with her.
And although she is now in her glamour
-filled twenties, she'll always have those memories of
me after I'm long gone.
All we can do as parents is pray
for our kids and model Jesus well.
We can't force our kids to become Christians,
for salvation is in the hands of God.
But we can be the best Christians we
can be as an example for them.
Monkey see, monkey do, monkey be like Jesus
too.