Parents Zone
Parents Zone
“Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from him.”
Psalm 127:3
Parenting is one of the most difficult jobs, if not THE most difficult job that God has bestowed on us. And the crazy thing is that He calls children a gift! At times, many times that seems like a mistake. Especially when they are being disobedient, rebellious, disrespectful, creeping out at night to hang out with shady friends, taking drugs, lying and so many other things. Surely there must be some mistake? But there is no mistake. Children are a gift from God!
Even though parenting is the most difficult job in the world, God never wants us to do this in our own strength. If we try to go at it alone we will be swallowed up and fail. We need Him every step of the way. We need his wisdom and guidance to know what to do.
If you are a parent you know very well that it is not just about your kids. Parenting is also about you. How you live directly impacts your kids. What you believe, what you love, how you speak, how you treat your wife, how you use your money and so many other things shape your kids. They are watching everything you do and assimilating it into their lives. There is a saying I heard from a pastor that goes along the lines of, What you do in moderation, your kids will do to extreme.
Parenting is not for the faint of heart. Especially in this day and age where the attack on family is so intense. The world is systematically erasing Christianity from view. Prayer is banned in schools and other public forums, Christian monuments are being taken down, churches are being persecuted and so many other things. The attack on children is especially intense. Social media is destroying our kids. It’s a vehicle for pornography, atheistic worldviews, drugs, hate, and other unspeakable horrors. Then there is television (streaming, YouTube, traditional cable TV). Some parents just dump their kids in front of the TV or give their kids their phones which have no parental blocks set up and the kids watch anything and everything and as they do they are being reconditioned and being brainwashed by the worlds warped systems.
So in this intense battle as parents we need to take the offensive. We need to bring up our children in the admonition of the Lord.
“And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and you shall talk to them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.”
Deuteronomy 6:6, 7 ESV
“Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.”
Proverbs 22:6
For our kids to survive the onslaught of the enemy in this day and age we need to train them in the ways of the Lord. We need to teach them the Word of God and not leave it up to Sunday school or to teachers at school. It’s our responsibility as parents to do that. I love the word train because it invokes words like discipline, drill, indoctrinate, and exercise.
And like I said earlier, to successfully train our kids in the way they should go we need to take a look at our own lives. How is our own relationship with God? Are we on fire for God or are we lukewarm? Do we serve in our local church or do we even go to church? Do we fellowship with other believers? How are our prayer lives? Do we tithe and give into our church? Do we give to the poor? However we live out our Christianity is what our kids will assimilate. If we are lukewarm they will be lukewarm or even worse. They might not even follow the Lord. Remember, what we do in moderation they will take to the extreme. So let’s step up in our relationship with the Lord. Let’s fan the flame in our hearts. Our kids need to see our love and passion for Jesus and imitate that because without Jesus as the center in their lives they will be defeated by the enemy.
Parenting is the most difficult job in the world but we are not alone to do it. God is with us and wants us to rely on Him. And even though it seems like an impossible ask, remember He is the God of the impossible.
Bless you.
“But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Matthew 19:26
