His mother asked, “Casey, you know the little tag on the neckline of your shirt goes in the back and not the front, don’t you? Your shirt seams are showing too! You are inside out and backwards!”
“Well, the right side was dirty, so I put it on inside out,” Casey answered.
His mother quickly said, “You do have another shirt you can put on.”
Casey said, “That takes too much time, and I’m in a hurry!” And away he went with his friends.
Later after supper, Mother and Dad had a little talk with their busy son. “Tonight is prayer meeting,” Casey was told. So he washed his hands and face and combed his hair. “I’m ready to go,” he said.
Dad said, “Son, get your Bible and we’ll see what it says about how we look and act. Please remember that we are going to be with the Lord Jesus tonight.”
“Let’s look at Genesis 41:1414Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon: and he shaved himself, and changed his raiment, and came in unto Pharaoh. (Genesis 41:14). ‘Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon: and he shaved himself, and changed his raiment [clothes], and came in unto Pharaoh.’ Now notice, Casey, that Joseph didn’t put on fancy or expensive clothes, but he got cleaned up and wore clean clothes. You remember the story, don’t you?” Casey nodded. “That was showing respect and being discreet, which means wise,” Dad said.
He went on, “Verse 39 says, ‘Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath showed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art.’ And in verse 41 Pharaoh said, ‘I have set thee over all the land of Egypt.’
“When we go to meet the Lord Jesus, we don’t want to look dirty or sloppy. Dressing neat and clean is being discreet. It shows that you have respect for the Lord Jesus. Then I am sure He is pleased to see you there.”
Casey’s mother gave him a big hug and a clean shirt.
“Now I want you to write out these four verses we’ve just read. Study the word ‘grace’ in Proverbs 3:2222So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck. (Proverbs 3:22). If you have a stiff neck, you do not bend your neck in submitting to correction. In this verse, the father is telling his son not to be stiff-necked.
“Now, Casey, write out these four verses we have talked about and put them on my desk before you go to bed.”
In the morning, Dad found the four verses written out and on his desk. He went to his son, hugged him and praised him for being obedient.
ML-01/24/2010