The Family Can Be Saved

Anyone can see there has been a constant breakdown in the value of family since the fall, but especially in America since the 50’s. The problem is that society as a whole has already rejected the biblical values that are necessary for the recovery and preservation of the family.

To keep the family healthy and whole we need to apply and consistently obey the few simple principles that are clearly set forth for parents in God’s Word. We should  constantly teach our kids the truth of God’s Word.

Four things, if remembered by parents,  can help insure that our children will have a far greater chance at turning out the way God  would desire. This fulfills God’s plans for us, and preserves the family for future generations.

Children Are a Blessing from God

This is true even in a fallen world that is infected with  the curse of sin. Children are living proof that God’s mercy extends even to fallen, sinful creatures.

When Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, God did not simply destroy them and start over with a new race. The children Eve bore embodied the hope  that fallen sinners could be redeemed.

Psalm 127:3 Lo, children are a heritage of the LORD,  and the fruit of the womb is His reward. 5 Happy is the man that has his quiver full of them; they shall not be ashamed, but  they shall speak with the enemies at the gate.

Clearly, in the plan of God, children are meant to be a blessing, not a hardship. They usually are a blessing when they arrive. But left exposed to this world and
unshaded by the proper kind of love, teaching, and protection, they will indeed break our hearts, and God’s.

Parenting Is Meant To Be A Joy

The parent’s task is a privilege to be enjoyed.c If God’s design in giving us children is to bless us, then the task He calls parents to is just an extension and magnification of that blessing.

Proverbs 29:17 “Correct your son, and he will give you rest;c yes, he will give delight to your soul.”

Parenting is not so difficult if we follow simple principles God has given. If they are neglected, then as parents,c we forfeit the blessing inherent in the task, and in turn, take on a burden God never intended parents to bear.

One way parents can fill their lives with misery especially in the future is to abdicate the responsibility God has given to them. Nothing in life will bring you, your child, and this world more joy and gladness than bringing up your children following the guidelines that God gives.c Not all aspects of parenting are fun, and loving parents never take delight in having to discipline their children. But even the discipline process ultimately produces joy when we are faithful to God’s instructions.

Success In Parenting Depends on The Parents Actions

We cannot measure our success as parents solely by what our children become. Sometimes children raised in fine Christian families grow up to abandon the faith
for a while, or forever. Other times, the Lord graciously redeems many children whose parents are utter failures.

Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. This is a principle that is generally true, but is not given or meant as a guarantee.

While each child grows up and makes their own choices, how a person is brought up influences to ac great extent what they will become.

Proverbs 22:6 This is not a promise that children will neverc depart from the way of truth. However, be assured that good impressions made upon them as they grow up will abide in themc all their days. An hold on to the truth that early training with you may someday be a means of their recovering themselves later.

As a general rule, parents who follow biblical principles in bringing up their children will see a positive effect on the character of their children. We parents are generally more to blame for wayward kids than society, peers, or any of the other influences we parents tend to blame.

Parents Are The Biggest Influence On A Child’s Character

Parents must involve themselves in their children’s lives enough to insure that no other influence takes precedence. Parents often blame others for their wayward children, but they are the ones who allowed peers/others to have more input into their kids’ lives than they have themselves. Be vigilant now. Do the hard things when necessary, now. Take time to really know and love them, and they’ll listen toc what you have to say more than you may know or believe.

Deuteronomy 6:7 And you will teach them diligently untoc your children, and you will talk of them while you sit in your house and when you are walking along
daily through life, both day and night.

Parents in our culture often have less influence on their kids than peer groups, because many parents have simply abdicated the parental role. As parents, we must realizec that character is neither inbred by genetics nor picked up by osmosis. Children are taught to be what they become. If they have become something other than what parents hoped for, it is usually because they have simply learned from those who were there to teach them in their parents’ absence. The Family can be saved if we parents will appreciate the great gift of parenthood and discipline ourselves to take our role as parents as seriously as God intended.