A boy came home from school one day with a note from his teacher saying she had to punish him for swearing. His father took him aside and said, “Well, son, what about it?”

The boy replied, “I have nothing to say, Dad. I deserved it. She heard me say what I said and called me into her office.”

“Then what happened?”

“Well, she asked me where I had heard such language. But I didn’t give you away, Dad. I blamed it on the parrot.”

Need I say more except to say that the heart of all effective teaching is “show me don’t tell me.” That is, we need to model what we want our children to learn, to become, and to do!

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to model for my children and others the kind of person you want me to be so that others seeing what you have done in my life will want the same for themselves. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Philippians 1:27.