Dear Patheos Friends: I am two weeks late to welcoming the month of February. The month we celebrate love. This is a short post this time around. I would like to highlight a recent conversation at an event, where a parent asked how she and her husband can help their young children decipher deception in the era we live in. It is a great question that requires a spiritual answer. That is because in our human strength we will always fall short attempting to do what only God can do. In this era, the concern is not just for young children, but anyone. So, how do we ensure our children are not allured into the vortex of deception?
First is to teach children what a healthy fear of God is all about. Not the type of fear of God used to manipulate people. But the Biblical fear of God. One that is rooted in a deep respect, reverence and obedience to God, His heart, ways and purpose. Teaching children the fear of God is the beginning of their young hearts knowing and walking in godly wisdom. Proverbs 9:10 states, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Those that have learned to live in the fear of God, are not in haste to follow the crowd. They understand that having the approval of the Almighty God upon their lives is priceless to all the allures of our world. One of the best ways to teach children the fear of God, is to live it out and spend lots of time reading and studying the Bible together.
Secondly, teach children from an early age to have something bigger to live for. Someone bigger to look up to. Somewhere bigger to go to. All these three (bigger to live for, bigger to look up to and bigger to go to) all point to one Person that is bigger than life. In a conversation between God and Moses, Exodus 3:14 describes this bigger than life approach to living a life protected from the vortex of deception. God Himself sees to it, that His children are taken care of in a world where wolves hide among the fold and pretend to be sheep. “God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” No human being can be The I AM. Only God can and is The Only I AM. When children grow up to know I AM in a personal way, God sees to all that concerns them, just like loving parents do.
Proverbs 22:6, “Teach a child to choose the right path, and when he is older, he will remain upon it.”
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