“And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of 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
To successfully raise the next generation of faithful and devoted Christians, we parents must start shifting the priorities and goals we demand of our children. We Christian parents must stop pushing our children to pursue worldly or earthly goals and ambitions but rather motivate them to pursue those goals that are heavenly and righteous. I must stress that I’m not against children going to college, getting a degree, and prospering. But is that what the Lord has called us, parents and children, to do?
Too often, we fail to seek those things that are heavenly and instill them in our children. We fail our God and our children when our view is more worldly in the way we set our priorities, falling into a secular worldview whose main goal in life is to get a college degree, get a high paying job, prestige and honor, buy a home or that late model car and many other such things that are thrown our way to make us stumble. And though all of these are amazing things, many of us have made this terrible mistake! Take heed!
We fail as parents, and as true disciples of Christ when our focus is primarily on our children succeeding in this life, without God in the picture, without preparing them for the next life, eternity with God in heaven. You see, our primary goal must be heaven, and we must teach that as well to our children. Our priority must not be Harvard or some other prestigious university! And no matter how many wonderful doctors of the body we might have, we still need more doctors that will bring the remedy that heals the soul. That is, we need more faithful and devoted Christians, devoted to Christ and His cause.
Our God-given command as parents is to teach our children the fear of God and a steadfast faith that will withstand all the negative influences of this world. We must teach our children God’s commandments and be their spiritual champion in the development of their faith and character, both in their words and deeds (Deuteronomy 6: 6-7). To do this, we must start teaching our children the whole counsel of God, improve their daily prayer, and take hold of our children’s education. Why trust our children to “Caesar” who will indoctrinate them against the will of God? Think for a moment of the hours that our children focus on a secular education instead of spiritual pursuits. Our children spend at least 8 hrs a day on their secular education. By the time they turn 18, our children have spent at least 17, 280 hours preparing them for college. Now compare that to a mere 1,872 hours of similarly-focused hours on spiritual instruction at home and church from the age of 0-18 (which is actually 5 years more than traditional education).
Obviously, this spiritual instruction must be based on Jesus and His principles of righteousness. How many of our children can successfully maneuver algebra equations by the end of high school versus how many of our children can successfully share the Gospel Message with their peers and live it out? My guess? Very few!
Higher education has many drawbacks. Not only is college a huge expense, but it is the #1 destroyer of a person’s Christian faith. Seventy percent of college students leave the church while in college. Sadly, about ⅔ of those children never return to their faith and church (the sheep returning to the flock!). A sheep returning to the flock is a cause for celebration! But a sheep who spends too much time in the wilderness of the world usually does not come out unharmed. The worldly influences on their faith, convictions, spiritual maturity, and the big baggage of sinful behavior will haunt them. The Body of Christ is also affected for years to come. That is sad and alarming!!
In Matthew 6:21, the Lord says that wherever your treasure is, that is where your heart will also be. So what is more important, our money or our hearts? Sadly, many are more focused on their student loan debt than on the things of God, the heavenly ones. Consider the following.
As of 2015, more than 42 million student loan borrowers have student loan debt of $100,000 or less. More than 2 million student loan borrowers have student loan debt greater than $100,000, with 415,000 of that total holding student loan debt greater than $200,000. The largest concentration of student loan debt is $10,000 – $25,000, which accounts for 12.4 million student loan borrowers. (Source: Forbes)
CONCLUSION:
Therefore, we must start teaching our children to set higher priorities and give them the necessary tools to defend their faith and go to heaven. We must teach them to revere the Lord, His Word, His church, and His worship. In our speech and demeanor, we must show our convictions and steadfast faith. Thus we must change our parental focus because the spiritual future of our children depends on it and the world as well. We must stress to our children the need to be faithful to God, His Word, and His church, teaching them that the work they do for Him is paramount, greater than any earthly pursuit, even getting a Degree at Harvard or some other university. Imagine a world where our lawyers are God-fearing, focusing on Christ over their own agendas! Filmmakers who fear God and strive to advance the Message of the Gospel in whatever they do. I assure you that as faithful and devoted parents, devoted to Christ and His cause, we can raise up the next generation for Christ and His Gospel Message!
We Christian parents must shift our focus from raising simply “good” kids to raising kids faithful to God, who would free prisoners of their sin, heal those wounded by sin, and raise those dead in sin, for there is power in the Gospel Message.
May the Lord help us and give us wisdom to teach our children the fear of God and keep the whole counsel of Christ, to fight tooth and claw against the threats to their faith.
Luci
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