This post is not so much for the teenagers out there, but for my fellow parents. I know that some that read this post will not like what they read and they will call me an inexperienced kid who has a lot to learn; however, I feel that a big part of Youth Ministry is also being a resource for the parents as well, not just teaching our students. I pray that while you read this you will truly search your heart to see if God is trying to teach you something, or if it is just a good reminder.
Over the past few days God has been dealing with me on a particular issue in my own life. I have found myself getting upset with my children for acting in ways that I have shown them. I found myself getting after them for exhibiting these behaviors, only to have them say to me “But Daddy, you did it!” Wow…talk about a dose of reality. We often find ourselves exhibiting behaviors for our children that are not the most desirable.
Now is where this post turns to the unpopular. How many times have we exhibited behavior to our children regarding God which is not even close to desirable? Do we exhibit for them what it means to have a daily quiet time with God? Do they see us pray more often than just at meal times or at all? Do they see us attending church even when we don’t always feel like it? Or are we teaching our children to have a relationship of convenience with God?
As I mulled these questions over, God brought some passages from His Word to my mind and I want to share them with you. Colossians 3:18-25 speaks on family relations, and I searched many different versions and translations for the best wording, and for this application I have found that the New American Standard is a good one, but please feel free to look it up for yourself. In fact I challenge you to do so, just as I challenge the youth that I teach to do. So please allow me to expound on these verses.
Verses 18 and 19 deal with the relationship between husbands and wives, and that’s a subject for a different post. However the verses that follow are the ones that pack some punch.
20 “Children, be obedient to your parents in all things, for this is well-pleasing to the Lord.”
Now this is the verse that we parents love to quote to our children to get them back in line, and we tend to have the attitude of “Let’s see you fight against God’s words!” However we tend to not include the following verse because it gets after us as parents:
21 “Fathers, do not exasperate your children, so that they will not lose heart.”
It is the responsibility of the parents to not cause their child to become frustrated and therefore lose heart. We are to live a life that leads them to God, not make them frustrated with Him because we proclaim Him with our mouth, but not our lives. There is a book out there right now titled “The Christian Atheist” which deals with the subject of those that say we believe in God, but yet we live like He does not exist. When we are not living our lives according to God’s word, but expect our children to, we ironically get angry with them when they follow our example.
22 “Slaves, in all things obey those who are your masters on earth, not with external service, as those who merely please men, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.”
We who claim Christ as our Savior are now bondservants to Him. We may have some masters here on earth that we strive so hard to please (our bosses, our friends etc.), that we forget our Master who reigns in Heaven. We are not to put on a show for those around us, but we are to live a life that is totally devoted to Him. We are not supposed to just put on the mask of sincerity for Sunday mornings, but we are to have that devotion through every day and in all things. When we strive to serve God first and foremost all the other things in life will fall into place.
I submit to you that when we strive to serve God with all that we have and to exemplify Him in all that we do, we will have no problem whatsoever showing our children how to live the Christian life. There will be no issues with commitment to God, feeling it a burden to show up at church or even to fulfill the obligations we have there. When we make God first in our lives, we will see a change in our homes. Behaviors will be different, attitudes will be sweeter and most of all God will be exalted as He should be. I pray that you allow God to become exalted in your homes, and that He will become a priority in your life, not just an afterthought.
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