Christian author Josh McDowell steps away from ministry after comments about minority families

Do as I say not as I do

I heard those words from my immoral father many times growing up. There were a couple of factors that actually caused me to listen to those words. First, I trusted Christ as a young child. I wanted to follow the Lord even more than wanting to follow my dad. Second, it was obvious that dad was not living for the Lord, so it made sense to follow that part of his advice.

I know this is simplistic, but what really makes the difference in lives- regardless of where or how we grow up- is Jesus Christ.

There are actually times where it appears to kids that you are saying “do as I say, not as I do,” when that isn’t actually the case. However, it does need to be explained.

When I was teaching my older daughter to drive, I told her not to take a particular action that she had seen me do before, and she accused me of “do as I say, not as I do.” I actually had to explain to her that this was not what it seemed — it was actually “don’t do this until you have a lot more experience driving and can do it safely.” She could at least understand that, even if she didn’t like it.

Kids don’t like hearing those types of restrictions, even from those that have more experience, especially when they can see that an action has some advantages. When they can see someone telling them not to do something that appears to get them something they want (like more money, etc.), it will definitely take more than just “don’t do this.” As JD said, it really will take the saving influence of Jesus to make the difference, especially when they ignore even seeing negative consequences to what others have done. It is human nature to think “I won’t fall into that trap,” or “I can do it better.”