A MESSAGE TO ASPIRING PARENTS WHO WISH TO RAISE MORALLY SOUND CHILDREN IN THIS PRESENT GENERATION
Dear aspiring parents,
Are you planning to become a father soon? Are you planning to become a mother soon? Are you feeling confused about how to manage and train your child(ren) in this present spoiled world?Are you afraid to even get married and raise children because of how bad and rotten this world is? Worry no more. I think this post will help you a lot. Just read it carefully.
Before I delve into the things you must do to raise godly kids in this generation, I will first of all spell out the mistakes some parents make that they think are the best training for their children:
Mistake 1: Asking your child not to speak to other children: Are you aware he or she can do this in school? So I see it as a mistake.
Mistake 2: Asking your children not to talk to or relate to strangers: I hope you are aware that your child needs to persuade strangers (customers) to become successful in his or her business to make you proud. This is another mistake.
Mistake 3: Restricting the movements of your children or asking them to stay indoors all the time with the intention of keeping them away from corrupt children in the neighbourhood: I hope they will remain indoors, go to school or church, and become successful at their jobs or businesses when they are grown up. This is another terrible mistake.
Mistake 4: Telling your female child that she will become pregnant and useless when she allows a man to merely touch her: Why not go straight to the point and tell her the simple truth? Why not educate her rather than use figures of speech inappropriately?
Mistake 5: You always make your children feel uncomfortable by constantly acting like security personnel, suspecting them, eavesdropping on their conversations, and bumping into their privacy. I think if you train them well, you won't bother to stress yourself by being self-employed security personnel or an overprotective parent. Or are you going to continue this way when they are grown up? I also consider this a huge mistake. I can still go on and on with the list, but because of space constraints, I will stop here.
Dear aspiring parents, do not make the same mistakes as mentioned above. The majority of parents who did the same thing to their children ended up raising children they didn't bargain for initially. For you to be able to raise morally sound children, you don't need intelligence or a thunderous voice to achieve this. All you need to do will be captured in the following sentences:
The Bible, in Proverbs 22:6, says: "Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it." Baby Jesus was only twelve when he was found in the temple, listening to the teachers and asking them good questions. And they were amazed to hear such good answers from a twelve-year-old boy.
Luke 2:52 confirms that "...Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man." Jesus would not have increased in 'wisdom' and to be 'in favour' with God and man if He wasn't taught the ways of God by His earthly parents. Like Jesus, the child Samuel also "...grew on and was in favour both with the Lord and also with men" (1 Samuel 2:26). Why? Because he was taught the ways of God in the temple. At 17 years old, the boy Joseph brought a bad report about his brothers to their father Jacob (Genesis 37:2). Why? because he was taught the ways of God.
Dear aspiring parents,
Are you ready to teach your children the ways of the Lord? Are you ready to educate your children on the importance of having God in their lives? Are you ready to instill the fear of God in them?Are you willing to plant the word of God in their hearts? Are you willing and ready to tell them that both the poor and rich are to be treated the same way? Are you willing to teach them how they should be kind to everyone? Are you ready to influence them with your good character and behaviour? Are you willing to tell them that they can't do anything without the help of God? Are you willing to tell them that they will be so frustrated and demoralized when they leave God?
With the word of God in Jesus' heart, the devil and even Barabbas couldn't influence him negatively. With the laws of God in Samuel's heart, Hophni and Phinehas couldn't influence him negatively. With the laws of God in Joseph's heart, his jealous brothers and Portiphar's wife couldn't influence him negatively. With the word of God in your children's hearts, this ungodly generation can never influence them negatively.
