The Bible tells us that “children are a blessing from the Lord.” If this is true, and it is, why is parenting so difficult?
In my last post, I discussed a couple of ways that we motivate our kids. One was reward or “treasure,” and the other was fear or “the hatchet.” We recognized that both of these motivational forces work; however, we would rather our kids be motivated by their heart. Proverbs 21:2 reminds us that God judges us by our motives. Motives come from the heart. In Jeremiah 17:9 we read, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” Unfortunately, this includes the heart of your child. In addition, we discover in Mark 7:21 that selfish, evil hearts lead to selfish, evil behavior. Therefore, as parents we need to focus on training our child’s heart. By the way, “heart training” takes a lot longer than “potty training.” So be patient. To start this process, we must understand that our parenting style needs to reflect the way God parents and leads us. Hebrews 12:6 says, “The Lord disciplines those he loves.” Our number one motivation for how we train our kids must be LOVE. And, our number one goal should be to train them in such a way that they have a stronger relationship with their Heavenly Father and will choose to honor and obey Him. Here are three ways you can begin to train your child’s heart:
Ric Callahan, Pastor of Families, Westwood Baptist Church, Alabaster, AL
1 Comment
Diane Cordar
11/11/2017 06:46:46 am
GREAT article! Thanks.
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AuthorRic Callahan has served the Church as minister to youth, children, and families for 37 years. He and his wife, Carla, have a passion for motivating and encouraging parents to activiely pursue Godly leadership in their homes. They have raised two daughters who use their gifts in minsitry as well. Archives
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