Instruction In Righteousness - Resource For Character Training

One day when I had all four children still living at home I decided I needed to run some errands. These were the quick in - quick out variety, and I didn’t feel like dragging the kids along. Errands go by so much more quickly when I’m not having to spend time in persuasive argument about the benefits of stepping lively.

I gave instruction to the oldest, who was sixteen at the time, and told him I would be back in an hour, hour and a half tops. How much could go wrong in that short a time?

Only WWIII. The best I could make out was mom-says-you-have-to-do-this-I’ll-do-it-in-a-minute-no-now-I-said-I’ll-do-it-in-a-minute-no-I-said-now-pillow thrown-shoe lobbed-youngest-brother-sides-with-oldest-brother-punch-thrown-push-here-push-there…. I think you get the picture.

After giving them all THE TALK and slinging the groceries into the cupboard, I decided it was time to refocus our devotions on some character training. I went to our bookshelf and pulled out my (well-worn) copy of For Instruction In Righteousness. They were going to learn selflessness, kindness and sensitivity if it killed me.

Next to the Bible and a good concordance, I would put For Instruction In Righteousness as one of the top resources a parent can use for family devotion and discipleship. It is a topical Bible for parents that includes hundreds of verses for over 50 areas of sin. Some of those areas include:

Pride*self-righteousness*shifting blame/making excuses*complaining/ingratitude*judging others*rules for borrowers*sinful thought life*hitting/biting/kicking*unkind speech*teasing/troublemaking, and many more.

The book describes what the Bible says about what will or should happen to those who indulge in this sin, how God blesses those who resist it, examples of those in the Bible who were obedient or disobedient in this area, plus ideas for discipline, reward and object lessons to bring the point home.

Until I lost the book in the great basement flood of ‘04, I used it regularly, both as a preemptive resource and as a reaction to situations as they came up (as when WWIII broke out). It was a much appreciated tool for helping me hone in on certain areas of character training, especially if I was still simmering beneath the surface and not able to think of where in the Bible it says such and such.

This is a resource you can use for all ages, and if you’re lucky enough to maintain it in decent shape, one you can pass down to your children. HIGHLY recommended.

If you’re going to purchase the book, why not go through my Amazon link and give me credit. I’d appreciate the support!