A Parenting Tip

When I first entered the ministry and my children were young, I could tell anyone how to rise their children. As my children grew faster than my wallet could afford, I grew smaller. I never doubted that the word of God contained all that was needed to raise kids; but I quickly became aware that the ministry of parenting is complex because each child is complicated. I found that they learned to push my buttons faster than I could learn theirs. I tell you this to prep you for this one simple truth: On planet earth their is no parenting guru and no earthly author that can tell you how to raise kids -- especially me!

Having said that, here is a Parenting Tip! 

Practice reading the Bible with your children. Let your children see you reading your Bible. Lastly, do everything within your creative power to encourage them to read the Bible! If you do so, your children will be introduced to the source of true wisdom and you will be reading the best book written on parenting and life.

So great is my veneration for the Bible that the earlier my children begin to read it the more confident will be my hope that they will prove useful citizens of their country and respectable members of society. I have for many years made it a practice to read through the Bible once every year. --John Quincy Adams

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Two Keys to being a Good Parent!

Deuteronomy 6:6-7 (NKJV)
And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 

Proverbs 22:6 (NKJV)
Train up a child in the way he should go,
And when he is old he will not depart from it. 

Ask anyone what they would consider the toughest jobs on planet earth and you would get a long list of a variety of rugged occupations.  Ask them where they would place parenting and most would agree that it tops the list.  No calling carries the responsibility and is more demanding than that of being a good parent.

Parenting is an on-the-job, never-ending training that requires hands-on experience and a 24/7/365 daily attention.  Ask any parent that has changed a baby and they will tell you, parenting requires a strong stomach.  

Nonetheless, parenting is the biggest honor ever bestowed on a person by God. Thus the Bible addresses the requirements of a person to be a good parent. Near the top of the list is one big don't and one big do!

The don't is simple.  Don't be passive!  
Passiveness is to be indifferent, unconcerned, apathetic to the child and his or her needs.  Passive is unloving.  Passiveness leaves the child without guidance, instruction, and discipline. When a parent is indifferent to a child, they teach a disregard for life and God.  The child is detached from love and has no assurance of protection or acceptance. 

On the positive side, the Bible teaches us that parents should be proactive.  They should love with an unending and unconditional love; they should instruct the child in the ways of the Lord.  The child is nurtured and taught that they are important both to the family and to the Lord.  

This kind of hands-on-proactive parenting requires the help of the Holy Spirit, and parents willing to observe the teaching of the Bible -- and much prayer.  

The following Bible verses will reinforce this article and will be helpful to parents.

Proverbs 22:6; Proverbs 3:12; Deuteronomy 6:6–7; Ephesians 6:4; Colossians 3:21; Psalms 139:13-16; Proverbs 1:8-9; Proverbs 19:18; Proverbs 29:17

These quotations and blog articles may be helpful

• Quotes Addressing Raising Teenagers 
• Quotes on Motherhood 
• A Parenting Tip 
• Shut Up! Daddy's Watching Football! 

Shut Up! Daddy's Watching Football!

The crime of kidnapping is based on this premise: The family loves the victim more than their money. Without that basis, kidnapping would be futile. Yet, every day we claim and express in words our love for others but often put our substance and/or our desires before the one we claim to love.

Take for example a young boy our family tried to help. His father often expressed his love to his son in words but in practice he put a series of things before his son in the following order: Daddy’s Corvette, Daddy’s Boat, Daddy’s Job and Daddy’s New Wife (The new wife was well aware of the order).

While most of you reading this wisdom tidbit would not fit into the above extreme, many would in a less obvious manner. Work followed by rest comes before time with the kids. The new sofa in the “living room” is strictly off limit – thus making “the living room” an oxymoron. Watching football is more important than playing football. Hopefully, you are getting the idea.

What is today’s wisdom tidbit? The order by which you rank your loves speaks louder than words. Follow @pastorbarr

Comments welcome! Both Yea and Nay!

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