Her name was Alexis Campbell of Ladykirk. Her ancestry harkens back to the 1850s in Scotland. She was a Golden Retriever, a breed developed in the Ladykirk area of Scotland. The breeders were looking for a great all-around bird dog so they crossbred Flat Coated Retrievers, with Tweed Water Spaniels, Red Setters, Blood Hounds and Labrador Retrievers. Alex was my first bird dog and a great one.

The great bloodlines of Goldens come into play when the chips are down and life is on the line. Alexis Campbell loved to hunt and retrieve birds, but she loved to play with squirrels! One day she bolted from the front door to chase a squirrel, which ran directly into the path of an oncoming car. In a panic, I shouted, “Alex, sit!” believing I would be ignored. To my amazement, she instantly broke off the chase and obediently sat down on the front lawn, safe and sound.

Physical bloodline makes a difference in dogs just as spiritual bloodline makes a difference in humans. I have the physical bloodline of Jack and Katherine Wallace, but my spiritual bloodline is from my older brother, Jesus, and our mutual heavenly Father.

Just as bloodline and proper training saved the life of my beloved Alex that day, spiritual bloodline and proper training work together to create spiritual submission to proper authority. (All too often our submission is consciously or subconsciously to an improper authority.) Alex obeyed me, not my hunting companions, when she was with me! When I was not present, she obeyed whoever she was with. (She never ate a bird in my presence, but she ate one when hunting with a friend of mine—a cardinal sin for a bird dog!)

There is a great parallel here. When we are truly with our Master, enjoying His presence, living in loving obedience, striving to please Him (II Corinthians 5:9), we listen when He says, “Ray, sit!” or the spiritual equivalent, “Thou shalt not….” When we are not with Him, bad company corrupts good morals,” (1 Corinthians 15:33).

Somewhere between the ages of 14 and 18, most kids adopt a different authority structure from their parents. God’s plan is for us to hand over parenting from ourselves as parents, to our heavenly Father. Every human adopts a final decision-making authority structure: parents, self, peers or God. Which one a person adopts will determine the outcome of both life and eternity.

We, as parents, must never unwittingly train our children to be blindly obedient to an authority structure. It starts as, “Because I said so, and I’m the parent.” That works great when a three year old child is running toward traffic, “Bobby, sit!” and they do.

It doesn’t work at all when a young college student is sitting before a professor who tells him or her what to believe, and they do, simply because they have been well trained to be blindly obedient to the present authority.

Nick Freitas (current Virginia State Congressman, and former green beret Army Ranger who served two tours in Iraq), points out this important reality: that we must never train our maturing children to be blindly obedient to authority. We must teach them the reason behind any and all obedience. We must teach them to analyze what is presented to them in any and every setting. (I love it when people recognize God’s principles, even though they don’t know the source.)

Nothing is better for choice training than the book of Proverbs, particularly chapters 13 through 19. Within those chapters there are literally dozens of “antithetic proverbs.” Those show possible choices, good and bad, then show the outcome of each choice. These antithetic proverbs educate the heart, mind and soul about the antithesis (the opposite) of each outcome for each choice, good or bad. Make a bad choice, you will suffer a bad outcome; make a good choice and you will enjoy a good outcome.

Our daughter taught first grade for years. She had her students memorize, “Good choices bring good results; bad choices bring bad results.” That principle is recognized in every culture in the world, ancient and modern, east and west from Marcus Aurelius and Confucius to Jordan Peterson. Some call it “karma,” but we recognize that it is Providence, and it comes from Jehovah God.

Listen carefully, an individual cannot control the outcome—God’s providence does that. Humans merely control their own present choices and actions. Thinking otherwise is a ridiculous choice that puts self in the place of God!

Our son, who holds a degree in biblical studies from Oklahoma Christian University, told me near the end of his college years, that the most important thing we did in his life was to teach him to read a chapter of Proverbs per day, according to the day of the week (August first, first chapter, August second chapter, etc.).

No book of the Bible teaches so many practical and spiritual lessons in such a short span, as the book of Proverbs, partly because God explains the “whys.” For our own parenting to be effective, we should explain to our children the whys behind the rules.

One more point: Dr. James Dobson and many others have pointed to the profundity of the statement, “Rules without relationship create rebellion.” The best scenario is for parents to explain the whys behind the rules. That is God’s system in Proverbs. Then we must add a loving relationship that creates a desire to please the one who loves us. It is no surprise that Jesus said, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” When we truly love children with a godly love, they love us in return and then strive to keep our parental commandments.

Love coupled with understanding the whys behind God’s commands, work together to recognize why it is in our best interesting to obey God. Proverbs points out the results that follow our choices. Parents explain this, then provide the love that calls children to obedience.

When reason, understanding, relationship and love are working together, they create a life full of right choices that bring God’s blessings abundantly into our lives. We may desire to chase the dangerous squirrels of sin in our lives. But if we are trained in God’s truth and understand God’s explanation of why, and we love Him with all our “heart, mind, soul and strength,” (Mark 12:30-31), when He shouts, “STOP!” we hear and obey. (Likewise, when He says, “Go into all the world and make disciples,” we hear and obey.)

Let’s consider one final antithetical passage which shows us the choices before us and where those choices lead. Isaiah 1:18-20, is a warning to God’s people about their choices, good or bad:

“‘Come now, and let us reason together,’ says the Lord, ‘Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool. If you consent and obey, you will eat the best of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword. Truly the mouth of the Lord has spoken.’”