WALK A LITTLE PLAINER DADDY

(I. Timothy 4:12b), “…be thou an example…”

“Walk a little plainer, Daddy,”

Said a little boy so frail.

“I’m following in your footsteps

And I don’t want to fail.

Sometimes your steps are very plain;

Sometimes they are hard to see;

So walk a little plainer, Daddy,

For you are leading me.

I know that once you walked this way many years ago,

And what you did along the way

I’d really like to know:

For sometimes when I am tempted

I don’t know what to do

So walk a little plainer, Daddy,

For I must follow you.

Someday when I’m grown up

You are like I want to be.

Then I will have a little boy

Who will want to follow me

And I would want to lead him right

And help him to be true.

So walk a little plainer, Daddy

For We must follow you.”

In our text, the Bible says, “be thou an example.” In studying the letters of the apostle Paul one of the things that surfaces time and time again is that Paul was a great advocate of teaching by example.

(I. Corinthians 11:1), “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.”

(I. Corinthians 4:16), “Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me.”

(Philippians 3:17), “Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample.”

(Philippians 4:9a), “Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do…”

(II. Thessalonians 3:7a), “For yourselves know how ye ought to follow us: for we behaved not ourselves disorderly among you…”

(II. Thessalonians 3:9b), “we make…ourselves an ensample unto you to follow us.”

From these verses throughout the New Testament, we know Paul was a great advocate of teaching by example and the reason Paul was such an advocate of teaching by example was because, Paul knew that we are creatures of imitation and that we are prone to follow examples. Paul understood that people learn more from examples than they do books and even sermons. And this is especially true of children when they look at their dads. Many dads want to give instruction to their children without a visible example of their teachings. But dads, you need to realize that your words mean very little if you ways don’t back up what you say, because your actions speak louder than your words. Charles Spurgeon it like this: A man’s life is always more forcible than his speech. When men take stock of him they reckon his deeds as dollars and his words as pennies. If his life and doctrine disagree the mass of onlookers accept his practice and reject his preaching.” Dads, you must set a good example of godliness for your children, because if your example contradicts your words, your children are far more likely to follow your bad example than your good teaching.

DEAR DADDY

When I’m a great big man like you,

I want to do just like you do:

I’m going to go just where you go,

I want to know all that you know;

I’m just a growin’ awful big.

I’m walkin’ in the tracks you dig,

I’m gettin’ just like you, fast’s I can.

Dads, your children are becoming what you are because they are following the example that you are setting before them. So dads, walk a little plainer and set an example of godliness for your children to follow.

Pastor Allen Jackson