Sermon Illustrations

Parental Influence On Children Compared To Sunday School

It is well known that crabs and small shellfish of the same class walk in the “sideways” fashion. Once upon a time, the other fishes resolved to teach these mistaken fellow inhabitants of the deep the proper mode of locomotion, namely, to go forward.

Accordingly they started a Sunday School and collected all the little crabs of the neighborhood to receive instruction. At the close of the first day, progress is made, and they dismissed their scholars after obtaining the promise that they would come again on the following Sunday.

Sunday came round again, and the crabs were once more in their places; of the benevolently disposed fishes, the crabs were all going “sideways” as badly as ever. A teachers’ meeting was immediately called to consider what was best to be done. The problem was soon solved by an elderly fish, who made a short speech to this effect:

“You see, my brothers and sisters, that we have these crabs under our control for one day only. Whereas they return and watch their fathers and mothers the other six days, the influence of their example in the six days in the wrong direction more than destroys any good we may be able to effect in the right direction in only one.”

Whether we parents want to admit it or not, our children will often imitate us in life before they will ever do what we tell them to do. They will do as we do rather than do as we say.

From a sermon by Steve Shepherd, The Daddy I Want To Be, 6/3/2010

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