How We Show What is Important February 28, 2007
Posted by Erin in : General Lessons , trackbackJoe,
I have it on my someday/maybe list to bring up the thoughts on the seeing daily circumstances as opportunities to train and not merely inconveniences in our daily lives.
As I was reading your post, I was certainly stirred by the thought that what we have answers to speaks to what is important in our lives. As I was reading it, I thought about many of the subtle ways we transmit to our children what is important in our lives.
The sad truth is not only do we not have answers to the things of God, but so often we don’t even bring them up on our own to our children. We may ask them what they learned in Sunday school or we may have our daily devotional time, but where is Deuteronomy 6:7, “You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.”?
Too often I see myself missing opportunities to teach the things of God as we go throughout our day. I desire to see everything in light of God’s glory and teach this to our children. I want to speak of things in such a way that our children know that everything is a gift from God and created for the hallowing of His name.
Children are discerning. They can read people so easily. It is amazing the intuition that exists in children to know the spirit of a person. And they can sense this most easily in their parents. They will know what is important to us. They will see this in what we talk about and get excited about and what we praise them for.
If we spend most of our time getting excited about how well they do on the sports field and very little time getting excited about them manifesting the heart of Jesus, should we be surprised that they grow up to worship sports and not God? If we are continually praising outward beauty and very rarely point to the inward beauty that God sees and values, should we be surprised when our children grow up to value what their peers think rather than God? If we get more excited about buying a new “toy” for ourselves and show no joy in giving God’s money to be used for His kingdom, should we be surprised that our children grow up to hoard up treasures for themselves on earth?
Right from the beginning we are setting a standard for our children by what we get excited about, what we talk about and what we value in our lives and homes. We are training them every single moment of our lives. And that training is either leading them to love God or to love the things of this world. It is very serious business when you begin to see the way your life shows your child what is important.
I pray we would be a home that exalts God more than sports and beauty and intelligence and riches and human power. May we show our children that God is the most exciting person on the earth and the One for whom we find the greatest joy and the greatest treasure we could ever attain!
Seeking to show the importance of Jesus in everything,
Erin
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