Truth for Breakfast

I wake up my mouth each day with my morning OJ. Today, there was a prize inside, well, almost inside. The side of the Minute Maid orange juice carton blessed me with their trademarked slogan – “Put good in. Get good out”. A great juice and a great truth to start my day.

The catchphrase reminded me of the saying, “Garbage in. Garbage out.”  We often teach our children that what goes in our minds comes out of our mouths, and so guide them to avoid all associations and media that subvert God’s ways. Yet I wonder, do we also purposely teach them the corresponding truth, “Jesus in. Jesus out.”

Sir Isaac Newton once said, “What goes up must come down.” Similarly, what goes in must come out. Luke 6:45 says, “The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil…” If we want our children to produce godly character and good works, we must put the source of godliness and good inside of them. Their storehouses must be filled to overflowing with good treasure.

We must teach our children the truths of God’s Word first through memory, but also through practical application as we walk with them amidst the corrupt culture in which we live.  These we call “teachable moments.” Embrace them in your everyday lives. We must help our children absorb His Word in the fabric of their minds, not merely repeat it as a minor appliqué. Our children are the Christian leaders of tomorrow. They must grow to discern truth from our world of lies, and walk it out.

“Jesus in. Jesus out.” “Put good in. Get good out.” Let us not be lax in teaching our children to intentionally ingest Jesus, not just avoid garbage. But may we remember: Our children will learn the most not from what we say, but from what we do. What example are you setting for them? Are you ingesting good, or garbage?