Several years ago, Robert Fulghum took the world by storm with his simple book, “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.”
He wrote some of the basic rules he remembered from those early school days, and applied them to adult life. Rules such as:
Share.
Play fair.
Don’t hit people.
Clean up your own mess.
Don’t take things that aren’t yours.
Say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody…
Good rules to live by. But where did these rules come from?
Now, I remember kindergarten, too. I remember spilling paint, taking naps, being the new kid in class, and being afraid of everything. I guess Mr. Fulghum’s class was different, or perhaps he had a better teacher. But where I REALLY remember learning what I needed to know was in Sunday School.
Yes, Sunday School. If, as Mr. Fulghum puts is, kindergarten was where we learned that “goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup – they all die. So do we,” then Sunday School is where I learned that heaven is where they went, and where I hoped to join them!
Sunday School is where I learned the Golden Rule. Rev. Steve May has written an entire sermon on this, entitled “All I Needed to Know I Learned in Sunday School.” He takes Matthew 7:12, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” and tells how everyone learns this lesson at a young age in Sunday School. I remember it myself!
What else did I learn in Sunday School? That God loves me. God loves me, and not only me – but everyone else in the whole world. I learned this from John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world, that He gave his only Son.” That meant God loves EVERYBODY.
My Sunday School lessons gave me a reason to share, to be nice, to care about others, to take personal responsibility. Since God was watching everything I did, I’d better think about it, too! Since God loved me, and wanted me to love others, I had to do my best to try.
I learned about some not-so-nice things in Sunday School, too. I learned how King David had another man killed, so he could take the man’s wife for himself. I learned that Cain killed his own brother. These were hard lessons to take, but the world still is full of selfish and jealous people, and selfishness and jealousy still can kill.
I remember singing. We sang every Sunday, and our class sang in church once. I still remember standing on the steps in front of our church, singing to the congregation, “Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all ye earth! Serve the Lord with gladness, come to Him with singing, Know that the Lord is God!” I learned about joy in Sunday School. And I learned that God gives us little things, like a song, to give us real joy.
So while I don’t want to take anything away from Mr. Fulghum’s kindergarten lessons, I really learned my most important lessons in Sunday School. These lessons gave me a reason to listen and agree with my kindergarten teacher!
What about you? Did you learn useful lessons in Sunday School? And how do those principles live in you today?
Jeff
