Greetings, Families!
It’s been a while since I posted an entry; forgive me, more of them are coming. I believe the things the Lord has and is revealing about children, parenting, and families will help all who receive it. As the Bible tells us, it is vital that we, believers, be sober-minded. In this, we will see the truth, even amid darkness. With that said, I must continually remind you that there is a spiritual war intended to indoctrinate our children with beliefs contrary to God. Our job as their parents and protectors is to shield our children from those things. We must ensure that our children are in an environment that will not expose or impose ungodliness, even in our absence.
With all that said, I want to discuss a question posed to me as I conducted a tour. A parent asked if “I believed children are different.” Initially, I wasn’t sure in what way they meant, but as we continued our conversation, I understood. Essentially, they were asking: in comparison to previous generations, have children changed? The answer was undoubtedly: Yes!
Generally, people have evolved, not just children. Just as children are different, so are grandparents. They don’t look or act like previous generations of grandparents. Is that a bad thing? Well, it depends on how you look at it. As the world continues to move in its path, the inhabitants adjust accordingly. Over the past century, technological advances have made information more accessible, and people have had access to all knowledge. You may have heard the phrase “knowledge is power.” And while that seems like such a great phrase, all power is not good. So the question posed to you is: do you believe the world is moving closer to or away from God?
So how do we, as parents, ensure we are doing what is best for our children in the sight of God? We filter through His Holy Word. The Bible says in Proverbs 3:6 to acknowledge the Lord in all our ways. Acknowledging God means that despite the world’s changes, we must consider His thoughts and reject any contrary doctrine.
Continuing with the story, once I said “yes” to the parent, they asked, “Why do you think?” I answered, “Because people have taken God out of everything.” What I mean by that is this: Christian principles, which were once taught and upheld openly, are disappearing, and people are making room for other beliefs. People are not blatantly saying, “No God!” They subtly invite new concepts that sound good but secretly redirect us from the Word of God. For example, inclusion is good for God-approved differences like race, disability, socio-economic status, and ethnic background. But that same inclusion has been applied to sexual orientation and identification when the Word of God is clear. So do we stop inclusion? No. We make it clear that we will consider any concept that does not violate the commandments of God.
Another topic is discipline. The Word tells us that God disciplines or corrects those He loves (Hebrews 12:6), so discipline is a derivative of love. But without saying it, some parents feel bad for disciplining their children because society has made parents who say “No” or don’t give their children choices and make obedience mandatory to be bad parents. When in fact, they are doing exactly what God commands. He said, “Train up a child in the way he should go” (Proverbs 22:6). If you have ever trained for something, it can be challenging, but it doesn’t mean it is not yielding something good.
Think about it; we live in a society where punishment follows those who commit crimes. We are doing our children a disservice when there are no consequences for disobedience because we give them a false reality. Let's make something clear; discipline is not always spanking. Some people automatically assume this, and I don’t want you to think this about me. Correction can take many forms, but the important thing is that we do it. If we choose not to correct our children, we will condition them to be entitled to reward without work. When in truth, the reward is a return. Furthermore, by choosing not to discipline, we disobey the Lord’s instruction on raising our children.
So, what is the conclusion? Unfortunately, the generations of children are changing, and not for the better. It is up to us, the parents, to lead our children in the path of God’s righteousness. Our children don’t have to follow the world’s trends. They can be different from the world, brought up in the Lord. When this invaluable foundation is established in our children's lives, molding them into scholars, tradesmen, soldiers, doctors, ministers, or whomever the Lord purposed them to be will be more profitable. But righteousness is step one, as confirmed in Matthew 6:33, “But seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and these things shall be added unto you.”
I pray this post has helped and liberated you to continue raising your children in the Lord.
Blessings,
Kristina