“In everything set them an example by doing what is good.” Titus 2:7

Chick-fil-A is a favorite fast food place for me. Not only do they have good food, but I get the feeling that every one of their employees are glad to see me. Every order or special request is met with the gracious response, “It’s my pleasure!” – and they seem to really mean it. Such courtesy is scarce these days, so it’s amazing how valued you feel when it happens. In fact they have set such a good example that I have noticed a few other businesses following their lead.

In his letter to Titus, Paul repeatedly talks about “doing good”. He goes so far as to insist that our salvation actually compels is to say “no” to worldly attitudes and passions and live with an eagerness to do what is good. In other words, our new life in Christ leads to a desire to do good as a natural reflection of the reality that Christ lives in us.

Christians, above all others, ought to find doing good to be one of the greatest sources of pleasure possible. Imagine the people around us who would feel loved and valued if we went about doing good with no agenda but the pleasure of blessing others and being able to say, “It’s my pleasure!”

Grandparents, you know that young children are often so focused on what others can do for them, that they sometimes miss the pleasure of looking beyond themselves to do good for others without expecting something in return. Obviously, many of us adults have the same problem. So, how do we help the next generations learn what the good life is all about? Here are four suggestions I would offer:

1. Pray for your grandchildren’s salvation. The first step to a good life is a new life in Christ.
2. Pray for their understanding of what it means to live in complete obedience to Christ. You might want to request Lillian Penner’s 31 Scriptures to Pray for Your GrandChildren. It will give you specific ways to pray for them.
3. Model the good life. Show by example that it really is your pleasure to serve and do good for others (love your neighbor as yourself) because Christ is above all your all-satisfying delight (love the Lord your God with your whole being).
4. Watch for and seize opportunities to let them experience doing good with you. For example, take them with you to help at the local food pantry, visit a nursing home, or bake cookies and deliver them to a new family in the neighborhood. If they don’t live close by, perhaps you could adopt a child together through Compassion or Children’s Hope Chest.

I’d like to hear some of the ways you are engaging with your grandchildren to teach them the joy of doing good, and not just doing what they want for themselves. Share your ideas so we can benefit from them.

GRANDPAUSE: “The supreme test of goodness is not in the greater but the smaller incidents of our character and practice.” – F. B. Meyer