Parenting is tough. Aside from having to keep little people (often with sizeable attitudes) alive, parents are also entrusted with the responsibility of training their child in the way he (or she) should go – so that they love the Lord and live it out.

That last one is difficult and can easily fall by the wayside. So whether you’re a new parent who’s struggling, or a confident experienced parent, this sermon by Dr. Rob Reinow from Visionary Family Ministries is a must-see.

Focusing on Deuteronomy 6:5-9, he shares how God created and designed discipleship to take place inside the home and the when and how for parents to instruct their children.

It’s incredibly helpful for parents from any walk of life – give it a watch and share it with parents and grandparents in your circle!

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to be lazy sometimes?

Or distracted?

Or preoccupied with “important” things?

Or forgetful of our values and what really matters?

I was thinking about parenting recently, and it struck me that it’s easy to talk about how vitally important Christian parenting is in a broad, general sense, but then get lazy in our day-to-day practice.

In other words, it’s easy to say how important good parenting is, then act as if we don’t believe it.

My guess is that just about any sincere Christian parent will agree that being a good Dad or Mom is important to them. They’ll agree that a lack of good parenting hurts kids and is bad for our society as a whole. We would agree that we need a return to good, solid, Biblical parenting.

We agree with all of that in principle. Say any of those things from a pulpit in America and you’ll probably get some nods and “amens” from the congregation.

But none of those things matter only in a theoretical, big-picture sense. They matter in daily practice. And they matter today.

I want to focus on that word today.

See, God doesn’t want us to believe in the importance of our parental role only in theory. He wants us to act on that belief. He wants us put it into practice.

In other words, we need to believe not just in the vital importance of Christian parenting in general, but in the vital importance of being a good parent to our children today.

Not tomorrow.

Not next week.

Not sometime when it’s easier, simpler, or more convenient.

Today.

Because in a very real sense, today—this moment—is all I have.

Let me give you an analogy.

Many of us want to lose a few pounds. We know we should. We know it would do us good. We know it would improve our health and the quality of our lives. We see the importance. And so we decide to start dieting and exercising—tomorrow.

As I remember my mother once observing, however, we never really live a “tomorrow.” Tomorrow is just another today that hasn’t arrived yet. And when it gets here, it’s not going to feel any easier, simpler, or more convenient to make good choices than it does today.

We always have reasons (excuses?) for why today isn’t a good day to begin. I’m meeting friends for coffee. There’s leftover birthday cake on the counter. It’s supposed to rain so I can’t go for a walk. Tomorrow will be better.

If we’re not careful, we can take the same attitude with our parenting. We’ll be late if I take time to deal with the tantrum now. I’m too tired to sort out another squabble. I just need to finish sending this text.

We get lazy. Complacent. Distracted. Preoccupied. It’s not that we’ve stopped believing in the importance of being a good parent; we just don’t want to put in the effort to be a good parent right now.

I’m talking to myself here as well. How many times have I missed opportunities to be the Dad God wants me to be because I was too lazy, distracted, or preoccupied?

The truth is, we can’t embrace our calling tomorrow. We can only do it today. I can only be a good Dad moment by moment, decision by decision. If I lack the character to overcome my natural laziness and apathy and be the involved Dad God wants me to be, it’s not going to be magically easier tomorrow.

So how about it? Will you join me in asking God to help you believe in the vital importance of being a good parent today? And if—like me—you know you need to grow in your own character so you can be the Dad or Mom He wants you to be, will you join me in asking God to bring that change?

Because after all, Christian parenting is important.

And it’s important today.

A bold voice for pro-family values in Illinois! 

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During my Bible reading the other day, I came across 2 Timothy 2:24: “And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient . . .”

This verse wasn’t written directly to parents, but it certainly has plenty of application for us! Paul was writing to Timothy who was leading a local church, and these words of wisdom were meant for him. But the four instructions found in this verse—one negative, three positive—are ones that all parents would do well to heed—myself included!

The first instruction—and the only negative one—tells us that “the servant of the Lord must not strive.”

It can be easy to strive with our children—especially some of them! My interactions with one of our sons in particular can easily stray into arguing. He’s generally not meaning to be disrespectful, but he’s young and hasn’t learned yet that he doesn’t have to say everything that’s on his mind. In moments of training and instruction, he’s prone to keep talking about and explaining (and often rationalizing!) whatever just happened. Frankly, it can sometimes (okay, often!) get a bit exasperating, and I can find myself slipping into an argument instead of avoiding one. We’re not shouting at each other, but the intensity level is a notch or two higher than it ought to be. I’m guessing you can relate.

That’s not God’s plan for dealing with our relationships. Paul says clearly in this verse that the servant of the Lord must not strive. (Other verses speak about living peaceably, which is largely the same thing.) We’re not to be argumentative and engage in verbal brawls. Discussions are fine, but our goal should be to avoid letting a discussion turn into an argument.

This leads directly to the second instruction, which is a contrast with the first: “but be gentle unto all men.”

The context here indicates that striving and gentleness are on opposite ends of the relational spectrum. If we’re striving, we’re not being gentle; if we’re being gentle, we’re not striving.

It’s easy to let gentleness slip when we’re in the midst of correcting or instructing our children. Practicing gentleness means we won’t deal with our children in harshness or anger. I believe gentleness is a quality in our spirit that emanates from a heart of love for our child and a genuine concern and interest in their wellbeing.

Of course, being gentle with our children doesn’t mean we’re not firm. It doesn’t mean we don’t have rules and standards and administer consequences when those standards are violated. But gentleness does mean that even in the midst of our teaching and discipline, we’re going to demonstrate love rather than anger, kindness rather than harshness.

The next instruction tells us that we should be “apt to teach.” Clearly this is an important one for parents! As I’ve written before, children need to be taught pretty much everything—from who God is, to how to tie their shoes, and everything in between.

There are many things we know it’s our responsibility to teach our children. When they’re small, we teach them how to dress themselves, how to brush their teeth, how to use the bathroom, and many other simple life skills. If we don’t teach them these things, who will?

Unfortunately, we sometimes don’t take our children’s spiritual training as seriously as we do those simple skills. We’re more willing to delegate that to someone else. But God wants us—not someone else—to be in the driver’s seat when it comes to our children’s spiritual education. We need to be “apt to teach” in this area above all others.

As we look at this verse, it’s interesting the way Paul’s four instructions fit together. We’re not supposed to strive; instead, we should be gentle. We’re supposed to teach, and there’s no doubt that gentle teaching is better than harsh instruction. We’re supposed to be patient, because without patience, there’s no way we’ll fulfill the other three commands. Put together, these instructions define an attitude or spirit of genuine love as applied to those under our charge.

If you’re like me, you probably find yourself struggling in some of these areas. The good news is that God wants to help us be the parents He’s called us to be. Let’s not forget to ask for His help!

A bold voice for pro-family values in Illinois! 

Click HERE to learn about supporting IFI on a monthly basis.

God blessed you with children for a reason. Come and discover it!

• Catch a vision for the spiritual life of your family
• Create a less chaotic and more peaceful home
• Pass faith and character to your children
• Practice effective Biblical discipline
• Win the hearts of your children

$12/adult, $5/child (Includes dinner& childcare, $30 max cost per family)

LongGroveCommunityChurch.com/events
Cindy Disney-Gainey
(847) 634-3635
cdisneygainey8@gmail.com

This is an event for parents about raising your children Biblically. More details to come in the near future. Please RSVP to Linda Michel: lmichel@wheatonbible.org.