Unquestionable Character: A 21-day Study in Stewardship.Sample

Stewardship and Education

This is another classic passage of Scripture addressing education. The call to consistently instruct and discipline children goes out to all parents universally. Believing moms and dads are to be wise faithful stewards of this sacred responsibility. Pastor John Timmer shared the following with the children (of all ages) in his congregation:

A long, long time ago I took a test in school. Someone had written a story in French. I had to write it in English. That was the test.

I was doing pretty well until I came to a word that I had never seen before. That word was chafaudage [esh-ah-foh-dazh]. I had no ideas what it meant!

So here I was, taking the test and not knowing what the word chafaudage meant. Later on I asked my friends. They didn't know either.

Well, I passed the test and completely forgot the word chafaudage. At least I thought I did. But listen to what happened to me forty-two years later. Forty-two years after I took that test, I was in the part of Switzerland where people speak French. I was riding on a bus when all of a sudden a truck passed by. And can guess what word was painted on the back of that truck? I looked and said to myself, 'I don't believe this! I don't believe this! '

Painted on the back of that truck was the word chafaudage - the word I didn't know at my French test forty-two years earlier. I thought I had completely forgotten that word. But I was wrong. Somehow that word had been stored in my brain, but in a part of my brain where I could no longer reach. But as I saw the word on the back of that truck I remembered it again.

Our brains are amazing things, aren't they? They store everything we see. They store everything we hear. They store everything we think. How smart God must be to make such brains!

ƒchafaudage! You know what? Now this French word is stored in your brain too. Whether you like it or not. Isn't that amazing?

Is the word chafaudage with you still? It means scaffolding in French. Do you have a similar story to share? Have you ever unexpectedly recalled some snippet of wisdom a parent or mentor shared with you - some principle that has guided you? Without realizing it, you bound this advice or behavior on you heart (v.21). If you are a parent, remember that your attitudes and actions are some of the most significant influences in your children's lives. As you are faithful to God's call to raise your children, remember that they are watching and listening to your every move.