Teach Well Your Children
In today’s society where abortion, child abuse, divorce, and other sins against these little ones seem to be acceptable, it has become apparent that our culture places little value on the lives of these gifts from the Lord.
Bible Verse: Psalm 127:3-4
“Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth.”
Reflection
Children are precious; they are a heritage and they make the home a treasury. But they are also useful – like fruits and arrows – and make the home a garden and an armory.
If parents do not raise their children to know and love the truth, who will plant the seeds of truth and fight the battles against lies and evil in the years to come?
Parents are to preserve the best of the past and invest it in the future. Every baby born is God’s vote for the future of mankind and an opportunity for parents to help make some new beginnings.
Teach Your Children Well
Line upon line, precept upon precept, it is your job as parents to teach your children to walk in the ways of the Lord (Isaiah 28:9-10). What could be the most effective tool for doing exactly that? It’s your own walk with the Lord.
Our children are smart; they copy what we do, repeat what we say, follow where we go, and learn of God as we study His Word and praise Him. Parents who boast of their past sins with a smirk on their face and their children at their feet have no idea the damage they are causing.
Children soak up every word they hear. Parents set a benchmark for either righteousness or wickedness on how they live before their children. That is why parents are not only to bring their children to church, they are to teach them the Word of God in their homes (Deuteronomy 11:19).
Raising Godly Children
This is not to say that every child who grew up in a Christian home will automatically become a worship leader or a pastor. We have heard of pastors’ kids who have gone out of their way to becoming gang leaders and drug addicts. There are also kids who grew up in the streets but ended up being elders and deacons in their church.
The point is, while it is the responsibility of parents to raise their children in accordance with the will of God, it is no guarantee that they won’t get lost along the way. However, the Bible also assures us that a child who was trained according to God’s standards may go astray at some point in his life but will eventually find his way back into the truth (Proverbs 22:6).
A Godly Heritage
A godly man, husband, and father, knows that having the right relationship with the Savior means a healthy relationship with his family. He would care for and nurture his children not just by teaching them to love God. More importantly, he would show them every day by the way he lives his life and conducts himself.
Philippine pride, Manny “The Pacman” Pacquiao, is a well-known champion in the field of boxing. And while I am very proud of his accomplishments as a boxer and for the honor, he has given our nation, what I admire the most about him is his faith in the Lord, which is reflected in the way he is now raising his kids to love God and His Word, the way he does.
Make Room for Family
Parents must always make room in their lives for family. Sometimes a business or social calendars need readjusting. I have heard stories about parents who walk around with their mobile phones in constant operation, thereby rendering “conversation across the dinner table” a lost art.
A man who had just lost his wife of many years to cancer was sitting in a hotel room with a friend twenty-five years his junior a few weeks after the funeral. The younger friend had his own family, a wife, and two sons.
The older gentleman wept tears of regret and said, “Friend, take time to enjoy your family now, for they will be gone all too soon. Don’t let the busyness of your life steal you from them now, lest you regret it later.”
Learn to appreciate what God has blessed you with. The dirty handprints on the wall and the muddy socks under the bed are signs of healthy, active children who are yours but for a short while.
Create for these precious gifts a Christian home where the love of Jesus is taught. Love them deeply. Give yourself to them completely.
Closing Thoughts
Reproducing a child does not make a parent – that is reproduction, not parenting. In other words, you can have a child or children but that does not mean you’re a parent.
On the other hand, you may not have a child of your own but when you raise a child in a way that pleases and honors God, you are a parent, a godly one for that matter.
Recommended Resource: Fearless Parenting: How to Raise Faithful Kids in a Secular Culture – eBook by George Barna & Jimmy Myers
Conscientious parents who long to bring their children up as good Christians and good citizens face an uphill battle.
In a culture of rampant narcissism and moral anarchy, righteous living isn’t easy and it isn’t popular. But positive cultural transformation happens quietly, one life at a time, and that is good news for parents.
In this hopeful book, world-renowned researcher George Barna and nationally respected counselor Jimmy Myers offer parents a plan of action to raise healthy, godly children in a morally bankrupt culture.
If the parents of this generation want to see their children grow up with their faith and consciences intact, they cannot afford to simply react, making it up as they go along.
They must approach their responsibilities to parent their children with intentionality and consistency. This eye-opening book helps them do just that.