Hypocrites! Jesus rebuked the religious leaders repeatedly with that accusation. But hypocrisy isn’t as obvious as it might seem. Those leaders certainly didn’t see themselves as hypocrites. Worse yet, they taught others to live and see God just as they did.
Even if our intentions are good, could we be guilty of hypocrisy, as well? And could we be in danger of unknowingly teaching our children to be little hypocrites? If our goal is to have well-behaved children, could that foster hypocrisy? How can we avoid hypocrisy ourselves and be better able to point our children to a genuine relationship with Christ?
We all sin every day, but there are some sins that God names as those He hates. One is “hands that shed innocent blood.” With the Supreme Court decision on Roe v. Wade concerning abortion, we have reason to hope that laws can be passed to, at least, limit it. But laws don’t change hearts. There is only one real source of hope. We need to be sure we put our trust there.
Also … do you have someone in your life who is difficult? Maybe it’s your boss, your co-worker, your mother-in-law, or a child you dearly love. Whoever it is (and most of us have someone), how do you think about that relationship and how well do you deal with it?
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.
Have you ever felt like you have tried trusting God and things only got worse? Moses certainly did in today’s reading in Exodus. What did he do as a result and what can we learn from his response?
Proverbs has so much wisdom for us all but today’s reading from Proverbs 5 contains truths that, if heeded, can keep young men, in particular, from a lifetime of heartache and financial struggles.
And finally, from Matthew 18, we’ll talk about the seriousness of unforgiveness and its effect on our relationship with God.
The Bible, especially Proverbs, has a lot to say to us about parenting. We’ll talk about that subject today. We’ll also talk about whether or not we can question God and, from the New Testament, we’ll look at the church disciple process.
What does the Bible say about personal accountability and the influence or responsibility of parents? Is there such a thing as generational sin? Are some children doomed to live certain lifestyles or to suffer the spiritual consequences of their parents’ sins?
Conversely, is there anything parents can do to guarantee their children will be followers of Christ? Where does a parent’s responsibility come in and where does it end?
Recently we’ve talked about how to have peace in place of the anxiety and distress so many are facing today. We also looked at various kinds of legalism, including how it might look in our parenting, how some of our politicians are too much like one of Israel’s kings, the test of genuine faith and so much more.
A quick scan of the links below will show you the wide variety of subjects we’ve covered. There are links to the posts here on the website and to the YouTube version.
Angry children—we see them in the grocery store, in the schoolyard, on the news, and possibly in our own homes. While all of us, including our children, are responsible for our choices, as parents we are warned not to provoke our children to anger. Two ways we do that are by living a hypocritical lifestyle and parental role reversal. We may be guilty of those or other ways without even realizing it.
We’ll, also, look at the armor of God, what it is, and how we put it on. It’s not as mysterious or mystical as it might seem.
Recently we’ve talked about how to have peace in place of the anxiety and distress so many are facing today. We also looked at various kinds of legalism, including how it might look in our parenting, how some of our politicians are too much like one of Israel’s kings, the test of genuine faith and so much more.
A quick scan of the links below will show you the wide variety of subjects we’ve covered. There are links to the posts here on the website and to the YouTube version.
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.
