They were a young Christian couple with two boys, Paul and Timothy. They had named the first boy after Paul in the Bible in the hopes that he would become a great servant of God, just as his namesake had been. Two years later, they had named the second boy Timothy in the hopes that he would learn from Paul and become a great servant of God in his own right, just as Timothy in the Bible had become.

        It was the hope of the parents, but Paul and Timothy seemed destined to go another way. Paul was bossy and had little use for his younger brother. He even begged to be allowed to sleep on the basement floor next to the furnace rather than share a room with Timothy. Timothy, for his part, was the daredevil. He climbed bookcases, went hand over hand up curtains, jumped off of the dining room table. When he got Paul's hand me down tricycle, he made a ramp and jumped the tricycle off of it. In church, Paul was the better behaved, but that was due to the fact that he mostly slept through church. Timothy, on the other hand, was wired up and couldn't sit still. In the pew, Dad kept Timothy on his left side and Mom kept Paul on her right side and they struggled through church.

        It became worse when they both got into school. Paul totally ignored Timothy because he didn't want his buddies to see him with a little kid. Timothy wanted to hang out with Paul and his friends. Conflict became a regular thing.

        When Paul entered sixth grade, the school issue was settled somewhat. Sixth grade was middle school. The middle school was right next to the elementary school, but they were still different. Timothy was jealous, but there was nothing he could do about it. Older now, the boys had their own rooms and Paul mostly stayed in his room and would not let Timothy in to pester him. Though Mom and Dad were still troubled by their two sons, they did feel a sense of relief.

        Although both boys had excellent Sunday School teachers, the parents began to fear the boys were not paying attention. At home during family devotions, the boys were there through threat of force. Paul was never going to set the world afire with the Gospel and Timothy was only going to be taught bad things by Paul. The dreams of the parents would never be realized. 

        That year, Timothy lost control of his bike going down a steep hill and crashed, breaking his left leg. That meant a cast and crutches. Eventually, the big cast came off and he only had a smaller cast from his knee to ankle. But he still had to be careful and so he still used the crutches. It was during this time that his birthday came along. As usual, Mom made enough cupcakes for everyone in his class. There was a problem, however. Mom could drop him off, but parents were not allowed to park and go in with their child. Timothy could never be able to carry the cupcakes in. So, at family breakfast, she asked Paul if he could help his little brother. "Well," Paul began. "I guess I could, but I really don't want to help him." It was the last straw for Mom. These boys were too much! She look at Dad with a look that he knew was intended to say, 'You do something or I am going to kill!' So, Dad slapped his hand hard on the table and barked out, "PAUL, WHAT WOULD JESUS DO IN THIS SITUATION?" Drawing on his years of Sunday School and church and family devotions, Paul promptly answered, "Jesus would have healed him and he could have carried his own cupcakes." The parents looked at each other for a couple of seconds, and then they both dissolved into laughter. Both boys were a little startled and they looked at each other and shrugged, perhaps the first time ever they had agreed on something. 

        In the end, it was all worked out. Paul carried the cupcakes in with the understanding that he could have the cupcakes of the kids that were absent. That was a good deal since Mom made great cupcakes. Mom spent the day smiling and Dad told the story to the guys at work. It was a good day.

        Twenty years later, Paul is the principle at his old Middle School. Timothy is the regional manager for Chick-fil-a. They both live in the same town and they get together most Sunday afternoons after church to watch the game or do something with their families. Mom and Dad usually stop over and on holidays the noise and laughter makes it hard to think. Paul didn't become that great missionary and Timothy was not Paul's student, but they are raising their kids in church, and they pray with their kids and read them Scripture, and that is as important as turning the world upside down. 

        So you are wondering what this has to do with you. Actually, it isn't written to most of you. Audrie and Clayton are going to have a baby boy in November, Sydney and Tanner have two boys already getting into trouble and it won't stop there. Generation after generation, they will come and those children will be born into an ever changing world, and those changes mostly will not be good. But there is hope. Really, there is a promise. Proverbs 22:6-Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. Don't give up hope, young people. Just raise them right.