The Official Writing Challenge
BACK TO
CHALLENGE
MAIN
INSTRUCTIONS
how it works
submission rules
guidelines for
choosing a level
ENTRIES
submit your entry
read current entries
read past entries
challenge winners
Our Daily Devotional HERE
Place it on your site or
receive it daily by email.


TRUST JESUS TODAY

  • Share
  • how it works
  • Submit
Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: Leadership (03/14/05)
Deuteronomy 28:2 NIV: “All of these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God.,”

“Obey the LORD your God,” is a verse my six-year-old son has memorized and internalized. He has learned this lesson the hard way though.
It seems as soon as kids join their first social group, they fall into either the role of a leader or a follower. When my son started Kindergarten, he became a part of the class and started playing with the kids in the neighborhood. He was forced to take on one of these roles.
Unfortunately, he had little experience with his peers and quickly conformed to the group. Trouble followed as he copied some of the poor choices of his new friends.
As parents, we try to protect our kids from bad influences. But what is more important, is that we teach them how to act when they are tempted to play “follow the leader.” They need to be able to decide if what the group is doing is something they should be complying with. This lesson is one that is best learned early on too.
My son now knows that he needs to think for himself before following his peers. He needs to ask himself, “Will this get me in trouble? Is it dangerous? Is it wrong? Is it what God would want me to do?”
Then he needs to have enough strength and courage to deviate from the crowd if he knows it is something he should not be participating in. This is tough, especially since kids want to be well-liked and fit in with their peers. Yet he must continually make the right choices to build his moral character.
Through this lesson and his own personal faith in God, he has been transformed from a follower into a leader. I have witnessed him using good judgement, both in the classroom and while playing with his friends. He is able to know when to follow the crowd and when to stand up for what he knows is the right thing to do. He sets a positive example and isn’t afraid to require more of himself or his friends.
The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.
If you died today, are you absolutely certain that you would go to heaven? You can be right now. CLICK HERE

JOIN US at FaithWriters for Free. Grow as a Writer and Spread the Gospel.
This article has been read 995 times
Member Comments
Member
Date
Lynne Gaunt
03/22/05
Some very important points here. The lessons you describe are so necessary and should be learned early as you say - it only gets harder for kids to "go against the flow" when faced with unpopular decisions as teenagers. I hope your son continues to be a strong leader so he can help others avoid the pitfalls too. Thanks for sharing your article.
Phyllis Inniss 
03/23/05
You have made a positive impression on your son. He too may make positive impressions on others because of your example.
Melanie Kerr 
03/23/05
It's not just kids who want to fit in with their peers and be well liked! What happened to your quotation marks? An interesting little glich!
donna robinson
03/25/05
What a great insight story from a parent's view. We know he didn't get there on his own, a loving mom didn't give up on the lessons needed to be learned!