Based on John 13:15
MEMORY TEXT: “For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).
When our youngest child was in his early teens, his idea of a neat room was definitely not mine. His bed was seldom made, and his clothes were scattered all over the floor. On this occasion I had been urging him to clean his room, and he promised he would. But he didn’t do it.
I kept reminding him, but it did no good. In fact it seemed that the more I mentioned it, the worse it got. Not only that, my reminders began to affect our relationship. My son was becoming angry. I realized that the problem was no longer just a messy room, it had escalated into a power struggle.
I needed to change my tactic. I had to decide what to do. If I pressed the point the way I had been doing, I would have not only a messy room, but my son would lose respect for me. I decided that the only way I was going to get a clean room and keep a good relationship with my boy was to try something unusual and unexpected. Some might say that I was a coward and surrendered my place as the head of the house. But, thank God, that is not the way it ended up.
After my son left for work, I started my new tactic. I went into his room and made his bed, hung up his clothes, and straightened up his room. When he came home that night, neither of us said anything about it.
The next day I straightened up his room again, but this time it wasn't so difficult, since I had just cleaned it the day before. When he came home, again neither of us said anything about it.
You won't believe what happen next. The following day, I went in to clean the room and discovered that he had cleaned and straightened it up himself. And that was that. Today as an adult he keeps a neat and well-ordered house.
It’s true, that actions speak louder than words. Today I invite you to remember the words of Jesus: “For I have given you an example that ye should do as I have done to you” (John 13:15).
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