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It isn’t a big secret that in today’s world that we seem to have more and more self-absorbed children. If you dare to correct your child then you are almost instantly accused of abusing your children. Children are taught in school that basically anything hat is discipline is considered abuse. Therefore, parents are somewhat at a standstill as to what is allowed and what isn’t allowed. No longer are we parenting in a Biblical fashion. Instead, we have decided that we should simply be our children’s best friend and when we aren’t then we parent in fear.
So How Do We Parent our Children in a Biblical Way?
- We take to God’s Word: All the things that we are supposed to be aspiring towards, in our own lives, we are also supposed to be teaching to our children. This is done during devotional times and during day to day life activities. We need to not only say these things to our children but they need to see us trying to live them out ourselves.
- We need to get on the same parental page with our husband’s: One of the most crippling things that we can do in our homes is to send mixed messages to our children. Our children can not receive a proper upbringing if there are two sets of rules. This gets us nowhere quickly and causes great conflicted within a marriage and on the parenting front.
- We need to speak to our children and tell the whole truth: Someday our children will be released into the world. They need to know the truth about all of the world and I for one prefer that they learn these truths with me. We have a standing policy here that if you ask a question you will receive the truth. There are no secrets in our home because we want our children to always know that if they have a question that we will in fact share with them our experiences and Biblical truths. This is our job as parents and if we don’t do it I can assure you the world is just waiting to do so.
- We need to pray over our parenting: We need to be in prayer over our children and we need to pray for direction. This needs to be done in secret at night or in the morning (or frankly anytime) and it also needs to be done in front of them. Our children need to know that we don’t have all the answers but that we are eagerly seeking them from he one who does.
- We need to correct our children in love: I am not a supporter of abuse. This can be sexual, mentally or physically. I think that correction should always be given out of love and this is not possible if we act out of anger or annoyance. This means that we need to be mindful of our own state of mind before we dish out any sort of punishments. We also need to take the time to explain the behavior with the child and make sure that the punishment fits the offense.
Parenting in a secular world is hard. There are many who would love to say that we are doing it all wrong and yet it is so important that we take the time to dig into the scripture and really train up our children a way that is pleasing to the Lord.
Until Next Time Just Keep Soaring 4 Him,
I would like to invite you to my Facebook group Christian Homemakers in Training where we dive into homemaking, motherhood, marriage and group devotions. After all, we all need a safe place to grow together, right?
I love your idea to PRAY, PRAY, PRAY! It’s an added blessing when our children catch us praying because then they see how important prayer is to us. Of course, we need to pray with them, too.
Some excellent parenting wisdom, and very applicable for dad’s too! Our family has found simple ways to integrate God’s word into our family’s daily life. Jenny and I are constantly amazed at how much our children pick-up. Even Addison, our one-year-old, enthusiastically shouts out “Amen,” at the end of family prayers.
Yes, it’s a secular world, and this is frustrating. The good news is that us parents, do have the ability to strongly influence our children in a positive way. Thanks for the reminder of the importance of Christ-honoring parenting!
You are so right, Bridget: parenting in a secular world IS hard! IN this world but not OF it! And you are also right about prayer: like most hard things, if we don’t start here, we’ll end early and badly. Thank you for sharing and inspiring…stopping by from Worshipful Wednesday!