Christian Parenting 101

Lesson 2: What is God's Plan for training a Child?

So What’s a Parent to do?

By now you may find yourself wringing your hands. You may realize that you are not living up to the “ideal” of parenting, yet you also realize that your child is shaped by every interaction, by every act committed or omitted. Don’t allow yourself to be depressed by feelings of guilt and inferiority. Not one parent alive is 100% perfect 100% of the time. What makes a parent a good parent, is the unconditional love s/he gives to the child(ren), not the adherence to new parenting styles. What makes a good parent a great parent is her/his devotion to God and willingness to learn, repent, and change.

To this end, here are some practicals that any family can follow to fulfill God’s training plan of the child(ren):

• Parents must (re-)commit themselves to prayer, personal Bible study, and spiritual growth.
• Parents must (re-)commit themselves to the marriage and family.
• If possible, mothers may need to resign from jobs that take them out of their homes and away from their children. If, however, this is not an option (a decision that should be arrived at with much prayer and godly advice, so as to alleviate her from any lingering feelings of guilt), a working mother must then seek to spend the lion’s share of available time with her husband first, and her children second.
• Families will need to let go of worldly prestige and a lifestyle that forces a mother to work (against her prayers and godly advice), and a father to put in above and beyond 50 hours a week at work.
• A mother and father, jointly (if at all possible) must look to get involved in a loving, caring and committed fellowship of believers who are willing and able to give support and wise advice.
• A single parent needs to seek a faithful Christian family in their local church to be his/her friends, encouragers and advisers in the raising of her/his children.

The above may seem hard to some. Perhaps someone is unable or unwilling to let go of materialistic assets, or has a schedule that seems to prohibit going to a church consistently. For this reason it is important to remember that a child’s understanding of worldly and divine authority is instilled within the home. A school, church, or volunteer group can aid the parents in bringing up a child in a spiritual manner, but it cannot supplant any negative teachings that are practiced in the home. If a child, for example, grows up in a household where there is hatred, discord, and jealousy, s/he may view God in the same way. Similarly, if the parents are weak-willed, the child may come to see God in the same way.

The story of “Samson“ is an example of a child who grows up to know about God, yet whose parents do not help him to have a strong relationship with God. Subsequently, he rejects his parents’ (and God’s) teachings about marrying into the foreign tribes twice, as well as avoiding prostitutes altogether. God was still able to use him for His glory, but how much more could Samson have accomplished if his parents had been a stronger, spiritual force in his life?

It is very clearly God’s plan that a parent is to train a child by coaching and administering discipline, to preserve the child‘s life. (1) By the same token, God expects parents to respect their child’s individuality, and specifically warns against nagging them or nitpicking their every move. (2)

---

1) Proverbs 19:18
(2) Ephesians 6:4

Print this page

  1  2  3  4  5