PARENTING

by Kevin Rutherford

Everybody is an expert at parenting. Or, at least you might think that by the way some people talk. It seems like those who believe they are the most knowledgeable with regard to parenting are the ones who have never had children. However, such well meaning commentators on the parenting skills of others often pose little or no danger. Who does pose a danger to Christian parenting? Satan. Satan is our adversary (1 Peter 5:8). While God wants us to bring our children up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, Satan wants us to bring our children up in the chaos and confusion of the world (Ephesians 6:1-4).

Who does Satan use against good Christian parents who are trying hard to properly rear the children they love? Satan uses politics, politicians, and political organizations. Some organizations would like to see governments take control of raising children. We have immoral judges, crooked politicians, and other unethical people in power who believe that parents have no right in determining how their children are educated, by whom they are educated, and what they are taught in the education process. Such individuals are being used by Satan to make Christian parenting more difficult.

Satan uses educators against our children. Many teachers are passing on the ignorant and liberal biases of the evolutionary atheists. As such they are turning children into fools following in their folly (Psalm 14:1; Romans 1). They are the blind leading the blind and they are leading civilization into a ditch.

Satan is using our children's peers who are not raised in good homes. Generally speaking children are more immoral, less civilized, more disrespectful, and more troubled than ever before in the history of our nation. Many are growing up in godless homes where there is little in the way of moral instruction. These children associate with children from Christian homes and often influence them the wrong way.

Satan is using all kinds of media tools to get to our children. He is using the perversion and filth on TV, on the internet, in music, movies, video games, etc. to push the children away from God. He is using the liberal anti-God bias in documentaries and news shows to influence adults and children alike.

Children in this country are being influenced by Satan in numerous ways. He is doing his best to confuse and confound generation after generation. His work will make it much more difficult to be a faithful Christian and to raise faithful Christian children.

Now, what are you doing as a parent to combat his influence? Are you active and involved in your child's life? Are you actively teaching the truth to your children, both verbally and by your example? Are you helping them to make the right choices, and in some cases simply making the choices for them? You need to guide, direct, protect, educate, and strengthen your children spiritually. Fail to do that and you have failed in fulfilling one of the most serious obligations God has given us (Ephesians 6:4; Titus 2:4, 5).

This is no game. You have little time. The souls of your children are at stake, and those of future generations are at stake. You may be a great parent and still lose a child or children. However, don't waste the precious little time you have with children. Be a strong and powerful Christian influence upon them. Bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord so that it is less likely they will go astray. And, if they do go astray, at least you will know that you did your best.

Get a grip on reality. Satan is playing for keeps. Are you? Satan is working to take your children to hell with him. What are you going to do about it? Below are five steps you must take if you hope to have a chance in saving your children's souls from Satan.

1. Bring them to church services and activities. Teach them to be active and involved by being active and involved yourself.

2. Teach them the Bible in your home. Open it up and read it together. Then live it in front of them every single day.

3. Don't let them attend the prom, don't let them attend drinking parties, don't let them dress immodestly, etc. The best way to prepare yourself for these things is to begin educating your children morally while they are young so they will understand what is wrong with these things when they reach them.

4. Teach them to respect your authority by loving them unconditionally and by disciplining them fairly. If you don't love your children, let them do whatever they want. If you love them, then go to the brain-draining, energy robbing effort to train and discipline. It is isn't easy, but failing to do so spells certain disaster.

5. Pray with them and for them. We need God's help in this. This is isn't easy.