Christian Parenting in a Tough World
Writer Author Sylvia Huffnagle
Christian Article
:
Parenting
- Fiction No
Let us compare today’s hardships in parenting to yesterday’s advantages in parenting.
The family used to be the major influence on the children so it was much easier to teach your children to worship Jesus and live godly.
There used to be no ungodly TV, internet, etc. in the home to be a tremendous harmful influence on the children.
At school the children used to be taught godliness along with their studies, while today it is the opposite. At school the children are influenced even taught to disregard God altogether. They are strongly influenced to do their own thing. There are powerful influences among the teachers and peers to live in opposition to godly teaching.
The church is ordained of God to be the pillar of truth. The church was to be a family on a larger scale or higher level and was to be relied on to set a good example in behavior, talk, and dress. God intended it to be a powerful influence and a rock of stability for the children. And the church was intended to be there to back the parents in their godly teaching in the home.
The church should be a physical manifestation of the Christian life in action and in progress for the children to see with their eyes and be touched in their hearts, as well as hearing with their ears. Most churches are a strong influence, but the message the children are getting is that we are only human and we fail many times. And God will forgive. The people live in a state of human frailty and failure, whereas the Bible teaches us to trust in Jesus’ life and assistance in order to live godly which is done by renewing the mind with the Word of God.
Christian families used to teach and practice a disciplined lifestyle, which gave the children a tremendous advantage in living a wise, loving, godly life. Today, Christians marvel at a disciplined person and almost roll their eyes, thinking that it is too much to ask. Today, tolerance is glorified and discipline is abased.
Sin used to be something that was kept hidden--a shameful thing. Today, sin is openly admitted with no apology. Indeed the Christian is expected to agree with the sinner that it can’t be helped. Yet Jesus came and gave believers all the power of heaven at their disposal to save them from sin and death.
Mommies and Daddies used to have definite roles in the home which instilled a sense of stability and order in the child’s inner consciousness.
The stores used to try hard to appear respectable and acceptable. Now you cannot depend on them to avoid displaying unseemly posters and magazines and such. In fact you can be sure that most of them will display things in a way that will bring about the most sales regardless of how ungodly it is.
The heroes and those looked up to used to have a mandate by the public to be good examples for the youth. But today the younger generations seem to ignore or embrace, even emulate the wicked lives of their favorite stars.
Advertising in all fields has not only wet people’s appetite for that which God teaches is to be avoided, but ads have also been very successful in teaching people to put their own needs and desires first and to even pamper themselves. Advertising has been a powerful influence toward greediness too. The children are drowning in our evil (harmful) culture.
Children’s shows, ads, cartoons, and music are teaching selfishness, ungodliness, violence, sexiness, and dishonesty. The children are drowning in our evil (harmful) culture.
The Christian parents themselves don’t have the same concept of godliness that used to prevail. Many parents who would like to teach their children right weren’t trained up in the Bible so they have warped ideas about what is godly and what is acceptable, etc.
How can all this be overcome? How can Christian parents train up their children in the way that they should go? The answer is the same for the church and for the parents or parent, but the results will be more profound for the church. The answer is to pray, asking God for wisdom and understanding, and then study the Bible and apply it to your life--the church should study the Bible together and practice it and share their experiences, failures, and successes. It should be the greatest in church project. Study the Bible and live by every word of it.
For the church, she will soon begin to manifest godliness and over time, she will be a true sanctuary, a godly witness, a good example, and a house of prayer.
For the parents, pray for wisdom and understanding, and then study and apply the Bible to your life and soon you will know what to take a stand against in your child’s world and what to live with. Hint: If God said don’t do it. It must not be done. If God said don’t say it, it must not be allowed. If God said to do it, it must be required in the home. And all must be done in the Spirit in which it is written--love.
This is not a message of dos and do nots. When one studies the Bible and becomes a doer of the Word, it is not by self effort. The Bible instills the Sprit of Christ in the seeker and it plays the role of being a mirror to show you what you, the born again child of God, is to look like. The motivator and empowerer is Jesus not self effort or determination alone.
Gal:2:20: I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
Sylvia Huffnagle
Editor's Comment:
About the Writer Author
State:
Pennsylvania
Country:
United States
Email:
huffnagl@verizon.net
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