Powerful Mamas
Ray and I enjoy reading aloud to each other, especially in the car. We just began reading One Nation, by Dr. Ben Carson. Among his many suggestions to the American people in the first chapter, one was that we treat one another with good manners. Wouldn’t that be refreshing, particularly among people discussing national issues!
At the root of good manners is a respect for other people and a willingness to “walk in their moccasins.” Below are some selected statements from Leviticus 19. God spoke these words to Moses so that he could instruct God’s people about how He wanted them to treat one another. Imagine what life would be like in our families, our communities, our states, our nation–and our corporations–if we obeyed God in these ways. Imagine how encouraging the news would be if examples of good manners like these were reported. Imagine politicians treating each other this way in presidential debates, in speeches, in congressional hearings, on CNN, and on FOX news!
verse 3 — “Everyone of you shall reverence his mother and his father.”
verse 9-10 — “Now when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. Nor shall you glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the needy and for the stranger.”
verse 11 –“You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another.”
verse 13 — “You shall not oppress your neighbor, nor rob him.”
verse 14 — “You shall not curse a deaf man, nor place a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall revere your God.”
verse 15 — “You shall not be partial to the poor nor defer to the great, but you are to judge your neighbor fairly.”
verse 16 — Â “You shall not go about as a slanderer among your people.”
verse 17 — “You shall not hate your fellow countryman in your heart; you may surely reprove your neighbor, but shall not incur sin because of him.”
verse 18 — “You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
verse 32 — “You shall rise up before the grayheaded and honor the aged, and you shall revere your God.”
verse 33 — “When a stranger resides with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself.”
verse 35 — “You shall do no wrong in judgment, in measurement of weight, or capacity.”
Again and again, God told Moses why the people should do these things in six profound words: “I am the Lord your God.”
I am proud of you for teaching your children at home. They are learning respect for God and for other people. They are seeing daily examples of these commandments being obeyed. The work you do when you get up each morning is of paramount importance.
In the first century Christians were a tiny minority. This tiny minority went about teaching the gospel and living the way God intended for the people He created to live. They lived out the identity Jesus told them they were–the light of the world. You are rearing lights. Good job.