Do As I Do

Philippians 3:17 - 4:1

Most people around my age (50, just in case you were wondering) and older will remember hearing these words as children: "Do as I say, not as I do." Those words were usually spoken by the adults who were "in charge" of us and was always said after we reminded them that they were breaking their own rules.

Growing up I was often reminded that things like drinking alcohol, watching certain movies, and being with the opposite sex were things that would surely send me to Hades. It's no wonder I was confused about what right and wrong was as a child because these things were normally told to me as these same adults cuddled closely (sometimes too close) on the couch while drinking a beer and watching a racy television show.

Nevertheless, the advice "Do as I say, not as I do" became a phrase most people my age grew up hearing and, for the most part, following. This same advice does not, and will never, work with today's younger generation. Not because youth will do what they want to anyway, especially if they see adults doing it and notice nothing bad really happens, but because today's adults just don't give advice.

Sure, our coaches teach our kids to play sports in a fair and honorable way. Yes, our parents try their best to provide for their children. Okay, our teachers do what they can to stimulate the minds of our young ones. But the giving of advice has fallen to the peers of today's youth.

Yesterday I asked one of my students how she was doing and she told me she felt depressed because she got turned down by a boy she really wanted to go to prom with. As she told the story she looked at me with an almost "please help me" kind of look and I simply said to her that she was loved by good people and she should never forget that she loves herself. That made her smile and and feel a little better about herself.

I'm not writing this to blow my own horn, rather because the advice her friends gave her suggested un-friending the boy which would have caused a division in that relationship. The advice they gave her wasn't wrong, it was honestly what they believed to be best for their friend based on their life experiences, just as the advice I gave was based on mine. My advice wasn't better, it just had deeper insight to what could result from certain decisions.

When we ask people how they are, mean it and listen to their answer. When we see someone who needs assistance, just jump in to help instead of asking if they could use it. When we know of someone being treated unfairly because they are "different" (I really don't like that description), stand up with (not for) that person in solidarity. Maybe when we start doing these things on a more consistent basis others will follow our lead and begin doing as we do.