Over the past few weeks we’ve talked about discipline and training. We’ve seen what the Bible says about discipline and when to use it. We’ve learned that “training” can give our children a “way of escape” and reduce the amount of discipline needed. Another responsibility we have as parents is teaching our children about God and His word. Paul wrote to fathers in Ephesians 6:4 saying, …do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
In the book of Deuteronomy we read about Moses giving the Israelites the 10 commandments. Then in chapter 6, verses 5-9 Moses says, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
Let’s look at these verses again:
Verse 5, we are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul and strength. Jesus told us in Matthew 22:37-38 that this is the first and greatest commandment. Do you love Him? If you don’t, maybe you don’t know Him well enough. Because the more you know Him, the more you love Him. One way to get to know Him is through His Word. Are you making time in His Word a priority? Knowing God, His love for us, and what He expects of us is more important than food, money, sleep, or any other relationship! We need to fill our hearts with Him so that out of the overflow we speak and act accordingly.
If you want to pass on an authentic faith to your kids, a faith that will become theirs you can’t just talk about it, you’re going to have to live it. Kids raised in church are going their own way as young adults because they see the hypocrisy of their parents at home. Are you relying on God alone to meet your physical, spiritual and emotional needs? Do you tell your kids not to be afraid and to trust God at bedtime but they overhear you worrying about how you’re going to pay the bills. Do you tell them to be kind to each other but they overhear you badmouthing your spouse? I’m not saying “be perfect”. We certainly fail in many ways. But strive to be like Christ. And when you do fail, apologize. Admit you own sins. Be real to them. They need to see that you need the Savior as much as they do. And for goodness sake have compassion when they sin. They need discipline not condemnation.
Verse 6, tells us the commandments are to be upon our hearts. Colossians 3:16 says, Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom. If we’re in the Word and we’re meditating on it and memorizing it, His commands will be in our hearts and we’ll be better able to minister to our children.
Do you want them to understand how important God is but you’re so busy running here, there and everywhere that you don’t have time for Him or time to talk to your children about Him. We so take for granted every breath we breathe. The only reason we’re here is because God allowed us another day. How have you thanked Him? Or how have you encouraged your kids to thank Him for everything they have?
Verse 7, we are to teach God’s Word to our children. These verses aren’t talking to Sunday School teachers or Christian School teachers. We are to diligently teach God’s Word to our children. Heb 4:12 says, For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And 2 Tim 3:16-17: All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.
At an early age, that’s simply telling them God loves them, God made everything, Jesus is God’s son. It’s also teaching them to honor and obey you. As they get older, we teach them how to live out God’s commandments in daily life; to do as Jesus said in Mark ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart …soul … mind and …strength.'…and… 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'. Teach them all the words of Jesus. If you don’t know where to begin or what to begin with, start with the red print in the New Testament. I also brought some of the books and things that we use with our kids. (Show Miller and 21 Rules.) In your quiet time, if you read a Proverb a day, after you’ve asked God to speak to you, ask Him to show you something to share with the kids. The Bible is not just written for adults. There is no Junior version of it for our kids. They can apply verses to their lives as much as we can.
So when do we make these verses happen in our lives? According to Deuteronomy we should be teaching our kids every day, all day! It needs to be part of our everyday life, everyday conversations. Verse 7 says, When you sit at home: at the dinner table – talk about how manners show love to their neighbor, reading books on the couch – even if it’s not a Bible story ex)Scuffy. Try to have a scheduled Bible time each day in addition to impromptu teaching. During this time, you could teach them the books of the Bible. I taught the kids by saying 2 books at a time and having them repeat after me. Read a story straight out of the Bible or read a Bible story book. Pick a verse to memorize for the week.
When you walk by the way: for us today, that may be in the car on the way to school or to the dreaded grocery store J. It may be taking a walk around the neighborhood. One day I took the older kids for a walk. Each one of us took turns being the leader. We talked about what it meant to be a leader; what a leader should be like and how we can lead others and be examples.
When you lie down: when you put the kids to bed at night talk about how God blessed their day, pray with them; if they struggle with fear as kids often do, give them a Bible with verses on fear marked or print up as many as you can and read them to them.
When you rise: give God the first part of your day, let the kids see you doing this (train them not to disturb you. Have Bible story books nearby for them to look at while you have your time.). Also as you start your day at the breakfast table, you could take prayer requests for the day or week. Keep a notebook in the pantry with the requests listed so you can look back and talk about how God answered them. One of Gray’s prayer requests was that we would find a snake. So when we caught a snake out in the woods, I made sure to point out that God answered his prayer. You could use breakfast time to review memory verses.
Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates: print verses like “Be kind to one another” Eph 4:32; “Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.” I Cor 10:24. Put them on the playroom walls; if your child is struggling with something find a verse that addresses the issue and post it on their door or above their bed. Then when you see it, you can pray that scripture for them.
Be purposeful. And ask yourself, “Can anyone come in and do what I do?” A maid can clean the house and do laundry; a taxi driver can drive them here and there; a nurse can put on a bandage. But God gave you the children you have because he wanted you to train them in godliness. We need to know their needs – not just physical, but spiritual as well. Ask God to make you aware of any and all opportunities to instruct your children in righteousness.
Don’t just talk, ask questions. Find out what they think or how they feel. We want our kids to be able to talk to us about anything. So if they share an opinion about something that you disagree with and feel it’s an area you need to address, maybe wait to talk about it another day instead of instantly correcting them.
