Parental legalism often focuses on behavior as opposed to the heart. These legalists make Christianity all about “the law,” often their own law or house rules. When they do, they run the risk of keeping their children from seeing their need for genuine heart change and a personal relationship with Christ. Could you have fallen into parental legalism?
Also, read about how and how not to communicate with a person who is acting like a fool and how we can sometimes practice idolatry without recognizing it for what it is.
Often when we harbor some sin, we console ourselves by claiming it only affects us. But both when we sin and when we choose to respond as we should, we never do it in isolation. The effect of our behavior on our children and others can be profound and long-lasting. Will we affect them for good or evil? What are we teaching them by our example?
Also, read about the conclusion of the Book of Ecclesiastes and the sweetness of God’s wisdom.
Most of us are familiar with the proverb: “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” But we all know kids who were raised in church and, yet, have walked away from God. What went wrong? Did their parents miss something? Did God fail to keep His Word? Do we have a parental guarantee that our children will always walk with God?
Also in today’s post:
As we start the book of Esther, we’ll look at what God was up to, and the un-fairy-tale-like ending for the other young virgins taken as “potential queen for a night.”
And from Romans, we’ll read about God’s warning to us concerning the danger of self-righteously judging others. So, as you can see there’s a lot to talk about in these passages.
Have you ever wondered if God has a formula for parenting? Some of us may have thought so and done our best to raise our children “in the discipline and admonition of the Lord,” only to have them wander from the faith or fail to make a genuine commitment to the Lord. This often leaves us confused, discouraged, and wondering if there is something we missed. There’s an important principle to remember in today’s reading from Psalms that may help.
And from our New Testament reading, we’ll see that “Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone”—This truth is central to our faith and must be strongly guarded and taught.
By what are your children known? Do you see tendencies that, if not dealt with biblically, will produce attitudes and actions that are not pleasing to God? What will those attitudes look like if carried into adulthood? Could our lack of wise parenting hinder them as spouses or in other relationships? Today’s reading in Proverbs speaks to this issue. But good parenting, also, includes teaching our children to understand history, economics, and civic responsibility. This is not only important to our nation wherever we live but it is our responsibility before God.
And speaking of our nation, how do you view what is going on in our country? Do you believe God is chastising or pruning our nation? Could He be turning up the heat because of our rejection of Him and His truth? Are you praying about what you see happening or merely complaining?
Nothing breaks a parent’s heart more than to see our children make foolish choices that can result in consequences for years to come. But there are some things we can do early on so God doesn’t have to allow more serious consequences later. What are some of those things?
It’s hard to imagine that anyone would intentionally set their children up for failure. But sometimes, we can do so without even realizing it by trying to give them everything they want. When we do, instead of being genuinely happy, they often become petulant, spoiled children. The added danger is that they can grow up to be selfish adults and even get a wrong view of God.
How does your parenting help or hinder your children’s understanding of God? How does it prepare them for marriage, work, and family relationships later in life?
Loving a prodigal can be heartbreaking and confusing. It’s hard to know what to do. When should we help? And when should we stay out of the way? Perhaps we should ask ourselves, are we really helping or could we merely be helping them stay comfortable in their pigsty, the very place God wants them to feel uncomfortable, even hungry?
If you have a prodigal, I hope you’ll read today’s post and share your thoughts.
And from our other readings:
What is death? Why do we call an unbeliever spiritually dead? What is the second death?
Finally, some questions we should ask ourselves. James tells us we are to be doers of the Word and not hearers only. But I think we could also say that we should be doers and not just talkers when it comes to doing. Do we talk a lot about God or actually live for Him? Do we talk about winning souls or do we share the gospel? And do we talk about prayer or do we pray? I know these are convicting questions for me. How about you?
When it comes to parenting, few of us are prepared for the hard work and confusion that accompanies the job. We get caught up in the excitement of the first sonogram, getting the nursery ready, and buying all those cute little bibs and blankets. It’s not until we’re sleep-deprived and walking the floor with a crying baby that we start to wonder, am I doing something wrong? But gradually, day by day, we muddle through, making the best parenting decisions we can.
And the challenges don’t go away after those first few months and years. So, it’s important to ask ourselves, what overall views and ideas inform and influence the way we parent? Could a different backstory make our parenting easier and more meaningful?
We all want our children to grow up successful in their chosen endeavors and leaders in various areas of life. That might mean being a great mom or dad or in a career or both. But we need to be careful not to focus on success and leadership from a worldly perspective. God’s will in those areas is very clear. I’ve talked about success in other posts but today we’ll look at God’s kind of leadership … servant leadership. And there is a warning here, as well, because when we fail to teach these principles, we set our children up for failure in every area of life.
