August 2, 2025

There’s a Korean saying, if you literally translate, “A dog in a school for three years can recite poems.” The English equivalent to that would be, “The sparrow near a school sings the primer.” Basically, it means that the environment can change your behavior and what you learn. 

A good example of this  that I see around me is when I preach. During sermon time, I can see what everyone is doing, and a lot of times I notice my kids. When they were younger, they would sit up front and they seem to be busy drawing or doing something to keep themselves busy. Obviously, they are not paying attention. They are not making any effort to pay attention to my sermons. What surprises me is that when we come home, and the girls would tell me about what they heard and sometimes even ask questions about what I presented. They were not listening, but they were listening. 

King Solomon once said, “He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed.” Proverbs 13:20. He also said, “As iron sharpens irons, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.” Proverbs 27:17. The environment you are in will change your behavior, whether you like it or not. In that case, I believe being at church will bring a positive behavior to our spiritual walk. This is where we pray, sing, and hear about Jesus. And when you become familiar in such an atmosphere, those things will occupy our minds.

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