Start with the basics

The leadership development course starts at the end of the month, and this year the theme that God has given us for the school is found in 2 Peter 1:3 - that God has already given us everything we need to live a godly life. By drawing on the resources that God makes available to us, we will find that we are able to live a godly life, even though we live in an ungodly society.

And so, if we read further in that first chapter of Peter's letter, we'll find a list of the "building blocks" that we'll need in order to be godly and live a Christian life in our generation: things like self control, perseverance and knowledge. But Peter is careful to specify that we need to start with the basics. The very first thing we need is faith in God - a personal decision to believe that He is who He says He is. Once we have that foundation in place, we then add the other qualities to it. First we add goodness, and then we add knowledge of God and His Word. And so we continue, adding brotherly love, kindness, godly lifestyle and so on.  One thing builds upon another.... but we need to start with the right foundations.

Before you can teach your child to read, you need to begin by teaching him the alphabet. Before you teach your dog to bring you the newspaper or the remote control for the TV, you begin by toilet training him and teaching him the obedience basics like "come" and "sit." And before you can develop qualities like godliness and love,  you need to start by knowing and having faith in God. That's the most basic of foundations - just like teaching your child to speak or teaching your dog to sit.

Finally, speaking of teaching your dog to come or to sit, I can't resist posting another little video of my Teddi - demonstrating for your amusement that cats can understand those basic commands too.