Teach
It and Preach It
Our
family serves together in our church bus ministry, along with a few other
ministries. We are faithful to all
church services, gatherings, special functions, etc. Sometimes my children joke about needing to
put a bed in my husband’s office because we seem to live there. All of the closeness and time given to church
and church family can make me feel as if my children should just naturally
“catch” a Christ-like spirit and a walk with God. This is so far from the truth!
Every
right behavior must be taught and demonstrated.
Many people do learn by watching other’s examples, but they also need
instruction. My children may be
surrounded by a Christian atmosphere, but that does not guarantee that they
will have a relationship with God. First
of all, I must make sure of their salvation; church kids can be very good at
faking Christianity! I must take the
time to teach them God’s Word and how to
study it, then check up on them to make sure they are reading and
studying it. I need to teach them how to
pray, then pray with them often and point out the answered prayers. When I notice attitude problems, I should take
the time to talk about it and perhaps deal with it before it becomes a bigger
problem.
Expecting
my children to learn by osmosis how to live like Christ is foolishness. It takes a combination of teaching and
demonstrating. Rearing Godly children is
a very difficult, time-consuming task God has given to us. This task takes much prayer, consistency, and
a walk with God. Teach it, then live it.
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