Lord’s Day, Vol. 5 No. 12

Bringing Up Children God’s Way

 The Bible tells us that children are a heritage of the LORD and the gift of the womb is His reward (Psalm 127:3). It is indeed God’s blessing when children are added to the family. How can parents fulfil their role as godly parents, and to train their children in the fear and admonition of the Lord?

Moses gave these words of advice in Deuteronomy 6:6-7, And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

Parents are to firstly, secure their hearts in the Lord (v6) and secondly, to shepherd their children’s heart (v7). A prepared heart is needed (v6) and the work of bringing up children must be done purposefully, patiently and prayerfully.

1) Securing the Parents’ Devotion in the Lord (v6)

In verse 6, the preposition ‘in’ expresses motion towards the object which is the heart. The subject is God’s Word. And the emphasis is God’s Word finding abode and residence in the heart of God’s people. In other words, God’s Word must be etched in the hearts of the parents first.

The meaning of this parental mandate can be deduced from the word ‘teach diligently’ in verse 7. It literally means ‘to sharpen’. The verb speaks of an intensive action of inculcating godliness.

When words are cut into a stone tablet with a sharp object, there is a deep imprint upon the stone. Likewise, the law of God should be impressed on the heart of the children of every generation.

To do so, God’s Word must first be cut in the heart of the parents. They must be true practising Christians, transformed inside out. There must be the conviction to know the truth, to imbibe the truth and to apply the truth in their daily living.

Moses rehearsed God’s blessing upon godly parents in Deuteronomy 6:1-3, (a) thy days may be prolonged. (b) that it may be well with thee (c) that ye may increase mightily.

The God-fearer who endeavours to bring up his children in the way of righteousness that the next generation too may fear God, preserves the spiritual heritage from generation to generation.

When God’s people obey God’s Word and walk in His ways, God will prosper them, and they will be witnesses of the living and true God. The secret to obedience, to secure our hearts in the Lord, is to be God fearing. It means being in awe of and revering God. This is what the fear of God entails.

The fear of God will lead us to obey God’s commandments that we sin not (Exodus 20:18-21). So, parents must first know the law of God and to love it and live by it. There is that preparation phase, the cultivation of personal godliness that is so crucial.

2) Shepherding Our Children’s Heart (v7)

How can we nurture our children in the fear and admonition of the Lord? To do so, parents are to set priority for home life and church life. Child rearing is spending quantity time and yet quality time. In others words, we are to be there with the child in his daily life, diligently teaching him the way that he ought to go.

One late pastor and educationalist observed well. “If we observe carefully, in every phase of life today, whether, in business, social, political, education realms, it is rush, rush, rush, rush! We are living in a rush age, a nervous age. And there is very little time left for home life.”

He continued, “Particularly with the globalisation of business, working parents take turn to travel out of the country. A crying child asked, “Mummy/Daddy, please don’t go!” the response, “I’ll call you tonight. I’ll be back in 10 days’ time!” These cycles go on…

The materialistic world is taking a hold of our life. China is expanding, the Middle East is expanding. We must have a bite of the pie, and so we go. Nearer home, instead of the family going home for a meal together, it is going here and going there, the children here and there but at home.

The mother is out, the father is out, and the child is left to the maid or the grandparents. Each returns home at a different hour of the night. It seems that we can’t get still, we can’t stop. Fathers are not willing to stop to build the home, running here and running there. STOP! STOP! We have to be still and quiet before the Lord where we can think and meditate and listen to the voice of God through His Word and by His Spirit.”

The spiritual and emotional health of your family should be your top priority. Make it a goal to know what is going on in your children’s lives. Then determine a strategy so that not one day goes without some positive, encouraging heart-to-heart parent-child interactions. Schedule time for your children each day. Accept the fact that to gain commitment to your family, you will sacrifice some things of lesser value. Build a sense of heritage and belonging amongst members of your family. (Robert Hoffman)

To be continued…

Yours lovingly,

Pastor Lek Aik Wee