by Dr. Paul Chappell

"What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you."

Romans 6:15-17

Whom we yield ourselves to each day will be whom we follow.

In a 2008 report on Missouri traffic accidents, data reports that out of all the accidents reported, over 10,000 were caused by a failure to yield the right of way. Of those 10,000, over 3,000 resulted in injury and 85 resulted in death. By comparison, alcohol-related crashes numbered just over 3,500 and drug-related accidents only numbered just over 500. The seventh highest cause of death in traffic accidents was a failure to yield the right of way, and the fifth leading cause of accidents (out of nearly 150,000 accidents) was a failure to yield right of way. Over seven percent of all accidents in the state of Missouri in 2008 were caused by motorists who failed to yield the right of way to another driver.

Perhaps you've experienced a similar situation. Someone failed to stop completely at a four-way stop when it was your turn to proceed. A driver ignored a posted street sign, and barreled through an intersection. Whatever the cause, many accidents are caused by people who fail to yield.

Yielding is not only a wise driving technique, but is also a wise life technique. Many times we are given the opportunity to yield to others, to submit to their leadership or authority, and to give them the right of way. But just as some motorists fail to yield, we can fail to yield our will for that of others.

God desires that we would yield our will and our lives to the control of His Spirit. Without His help, we are lost on the road of life. But just as posted signs guide the way of the motorist, so God's Spirit guides our way through life.

One area of life in which we must yield to the Spirit is in our family. Some people would say the family has taken a back seat in society and is no longer important in the health of society, but God still says that family is vital to the raising and training of children.

How can we, as parents, train and guide our children when we ourselves sometimes feel unguided and lost? First, we must daily seek God's guidance. We cannot guide others, especially our family, without being guided by God. As Paul said, "Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ" (1 Corinthians 11:1).

Second, we must daily yield to the Holy Spirit's control. Romans 6:16 points out an important principle we families should follow, "Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?" Whom we yield ourselves to each day will be whom we follow. Will it be God or sin?

As a parent or grandparent, you have been given the responsibility of leading your family, setting the spiritual tone. But you cannot do that on your own. Just as you need daily guidance in your personal life, so you need daily guidance in your family.

Take some time right now to yield yourself to God's control, and seek His help. As you daily submit to God, He will give you wisdom and direction in knowing how to guide your family.

To learn more about the ministries of Lancaster Baptist Church and Pastor Chappell, please visit lancasterbaptist.org, paulchappell.com, or follow him on twitter.

Daily Bible Reading
Job 22-24 | Acts 11