Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Do not lord it over those in your charge, but be examples to the flock.”
NL Daily Devotion for Monday, August 8, 2022
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
Kids can smell BS a mile away. I know from my experience working with children and youth, especially middle school kids. Those early teens are desperate for someone to be straight with them about what’s what. I’ve found that when I’m real with kids, they respond with an almost palpable relief.
So don’t for one second think that you can expect kids to “do as I say, not as I do” for very long. The writer of First Peter got this. They knew that young people are naturally a little oppositional, and that “lording it over” them wasn’t going to go off too well. They also knew that living the faith openly and honestly is a powerful way to pass it on.
Do my actions support what I say I believe? Why or why not?