My son, if your heart is wise,
then my heart will be glad;
my inmost being will rejoice
when your lips speak what is right.
Do not let your heart envy sinners,
but always be zealous for the fear of the LORD.
Proverbs 23:15-17 (NIV)
I heard this on Christian radio the other day:
“We are a culture obsessed with giving our children every opportunity to be who they want to be. The Bible has sixty-six books which warn us of the dangers and destruction that accompany letting our children be who they would naturally be without godly training.”
My question for us today is: Have we bought into the world’s idea of success in parenting? What drives us in raising our kids? Do we want them to be a star athlete, graduate as class valedictorian, get accepted to Ivy League schools, and have careers that are so lucrative that they are never aware of their desperate need for God? None of the above goals are wrong if our children’s pre-eminent training is in the Word of God. We need a generation who is excellent in pointing others to the only hope of the world–Jesus Christ and His gospel.
I am guilty of allowing letting the true goal be obscured by lesser pursuits in my parenting.
Jesus, help us to remember that the spiritual training is more important than anything else in our children’s lives. Keep our eyes on what true success, Biblically, looks like.
Once again, exactly what I needed to hear to reinforce the conversation we had with my youngest last night. Basketball tryouts are this week and cuts are this afternoon. We spent last night talking about how unimportant that is in the grand scheme of things . . . thanks for your wonderful encouragement!
If one of my kids becomes a trash collector ("garbageman") but loves Jesus and daily follows His will — he/she will be a true success. Even if the world doesn't see it — God will know!