In a world where celebrities are celebrated for what they wear or don’t wear and Christians are put to shame because they have sins in their past, we have to be ready for the debates that are coming. Politicians and Believers are held to a higher standard than common, regular folk and maybe that is as it should be.
We all want leaders who are moral, but society as a whole does not want to go by the same moral standards that they place on leaders. We have a fight coming, but it will not be won through animosity and discord. It will not be won at the highest levels of government, no matter which branch. It is a battle for hearts that can only be won by the One who formed every heart on the planet and has the power to turn them back towards Him.
A society that tells us what moral standards are will not work for us as believers. A morality based on the creation’s desires will never work its way towards the Kingdom of God (See Genesis 11:1-9). But for those whose hearts long for the Eternal Kingdom, we have a standard given to us already. One given to a nation whose hearts have turned from Him and opened the doorway to the rest of us for Salvation. Passed down from generation to generation, this Redemption story by the Author of the Moral Code is the only one that will save and maintain any civilization. It begins and ends with Love and a society that is based on Perfect Love will behave in a way that will not bring shame upon itself.
As parents and grandparents we have a huge responsibility to share the story of God with our young ones. We can hand this off to the schools, church congregations and their teachers, but ultimately these are our babies. We cannot afford to pass the buck here. Many of the societal problems we see today are caused by our sense of moral apathy. We have given in for many years now to the norm of the surrounding world. Although we know there are things that are not all bad in society, we do know there are some things that are detrimental to our children and it is our responsibility to teach them. This cannot be given to anyone else. It must start in our own homes. A vibrant life of Worship of our Creator God within our homes will produce the same heart within our children. But parents be warned, if He is not real to you, He will not be real to your children!
Our children are learning from us all the time. Everything that we do in front of them, they pick up. Our attitudes, actions and words speak volumes to them. Our road rage, our spats with our spouses, the way in which we handle our discipline of them. Every bit of it. Whether or not we pick up our Bibles and whether or not we pursue our own relationship with Christ. Our prejudices and the less than graceful things we say about others. Our bickering and complaining, the things that hurt our feelings and the way we handle conflict. Whether or not we are producing fruit in our walk with the Lord, they see it and smell it. Bottom Line: we are teaching them in every moment.
The Bible tells us to, “Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6). We toss this verse around, but don't always check ourselves to see what we are doing. We seldom want to put in the hard work of training them. We leave this in other's hands. Our weak parenting and the sin we inherited has led us to the society that we have now. If we do not reclaim our God-given right to work with our children to combat what society says is wrong or right, is it any wonder that our children end up in trouble? We have a responsibility to walk with the Lord uprightly before them. If we do this, we will have lived a life of integrity in front of them and they will know to stay on the path and not stray. If we do not teach them what the Word of God says is right and wrong, the world will.
There are many examples in the daily news of children and young people doing things that we find appalling. Much of this can be contributed to the fact that parents did not teach them what sin is and does to us as we give in to it. Maybe there was a failure to discipline in love. Maybe the parent(s) gave the right to raise their children over to the media and society in general, rather than teaching them from the Word of God. This cycle continues and we see it as our nation pulls more and more away from the Judeo- Christian ethic.
As the breakdown of the family continues and children act out with no sense of moral absolutes, we are at a critical time as believers. We must be diligent not only to teach our children biblical principles, but also to model them for our young ones. Children who grow up without a sense of who God really is and have no idea how to walk with Him, will struggle with knowing and doing the will of God as adults. We should do as much as we can to let them know how deeply He loves them and desires a healthy relationship with them.
As new laws and new norms in society change, we can stand firm on the Word of God and not be swayed by public opinion. Our obedience to the Lord will show our children that there are answers in God’s Word for what society says is OK. There can be no mistaking, what we teach our children really matters. When they are grown they will not depart for His Word, as long as we are faithful to it now. Be encouraged and make a stand. Your family and your children’s future is worth it. Ground them in the Truth and they will have something not only to stand on, but if they fall, they can fall back on the Truth you have taught them. Teach them well.
We all want leaders who are moral, but society as a whole does not want to go by the same moral standards that they place on leaders. We have a fight coming, but it will not be won through animosity and discord. It will not be won at the highest levels of government, no matter which branch. It is a battle for hearts that can only be won by the One who formed every heart on the planet and has the power to turn them back towards Him.
A society that tells us what moral standards are will not work for us as believers. A morality based on the creation’s desires will never work its way towards the Kingdom of God (See Genesis 11:1-9). But for those whose hearts long for the Eternal Kingdom, we have a standard given to us already. One given to a nation whose hearts have turned from Him and opened the doorway to the rest of us for Salvation. Passed down from generation to generation, this Redemption story by the Author of the Moral Code is the only one that will save and maintain any civilization. It begins and ends with Love and a society that is based on Perfect Love will behave in a way that will not bring shame upon itself.
As parents and grandparents we have a huge responsibility to share the story of God with our young ones. We can hand this off to the schools, church congregations and their teachers, but ultimately these are our babies. We cannot afford to pass the buck here. Many of the societal problems we see today are caused by our sense of moral apathy. We have given in for many years now to the norm of the surrounding world. Although we know there are things that are not all bad in society, we do know there are some things that are detrimental to our children and it is our responsibility to teach them. This cannot be given to anyone else. It must start in our own homes. A vibrant life of Worship of our Creator God within our homes will produce the same heart within our children. But parents be warned, if He is not real to you, He will not be real to your children!
Our children are learning from us all the time. Everything that we do in front of them, they pick up. Our attitudes, actions and words speak volumes to them. Our road rage, our spats with our spouses, the way in which we handle our discipline of them. Every bit of it. Whether or not we pick up our Bibles and whether or not we pursue our own relationship with Christ. Our prejudices and the less than graceful things we say about others. Our bickering and complaining, the things that hurt our feelings and the way we handle conflict. Whether or not we are producing fruit in our walk with the Lord, they see it and smell it. Bottom Line: we are teaching them in every moment.
The Bible tells us to, “Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6). We toss this verse around, but don't always check ourselves to see what we are doing. We seldom want to put in the hard work of training them. We leave this in other's hands. Our weak parenting and the sin we inherited has led us to the society that we have now. If we do not reclaim our God-given right to work with our children to combat what society says is wrong or right, is it any wonder that our children end up in trouble? We have a responsibility to walk with the Lord uprightly before them. If we do this, we will have lived a life of integrity in front of them and they will know to stay on the path and not stray. If we do not teach them what the Word of God says is right and wrong, the world will.
There are many examples in the daily news of children and young people doing things that we find appalling. Much of this can be contributed to the fact that parents did not teach them what sin is and does to us as we give in to it. Maybe there was a failure to discipline in love. Maybe the parent(s) gave the right to raise their children over to the media and society in general, rather than teaching them from the Word of God. This cycle continues and we see it as our nation pulls more and more away from the Judeo- Christian ethic.
As the breakdown of the family continues and children act out with no sense of moral absolutes, we are at a critical time as believers. We must be diligent not only to teach our children biblical principles, but also to model them for our young ones. Children who grow up without a sense of who God really is and have no idea how to walk with Him, will struggle with knowing and doing the will of God as adults. We should do as much as we can to let them know how deeply He loves them and desires a healthy relationship with them.
As new laws and new norms in society change, we can stand firm on the Word of God and not be swayed by public opinion. Our obedience to the Lord will show our children that there are answers in God’s Word for what society says is OK. There can be no mistaking, what we teach our children really matters. When they are grown they will not depart for His Word, as long as we are faithful to it now. Be encouraged and make a stand. Your family and your children’s future is worth it. Ground them in the Truth and they will have something not only to stand on, but if they fall, they can fall back on the Truth you have taught them. Teach them well.
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