PARENTS, WHAT DO YOU TEACH YOUR CHILDREN?

The Word of God tells us in Proverbs 22:6 "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it."

If you look at today's world, you will notice that moral values have declined to an alarming level with very, very few people having the fear of God.

Today, vice looks right and virtue appears the wrong way to go. The reason this is so is because parents and families have neglected this important Scripture verse in Proverbs 22:6.

Fathers and mothers are so caught up with providing for the material needs of their children whilst totally neglecting their spiritual needs! As a result, children are left at the mercy of society and pick up whatever they learn from the world.

How many Christian families come together in the morning and evening every single day to read the Bible, the ONLY Word of God and pray together?

How many Christian families today go to Church and other Christian programmes to listen to the Word of God and pray with other Christian believers?

Even Sunday, a day Christians should go to Church to hear God's Word, thank God for His mercies and faithfulness and pray to Him for more blessings, has become a day of outing to social gatherings for families.

People would rather visit the beach, go on picnics, attend village or country home meetings, visit friends, watch football on cable Television, etc, rather than go to Church to worship their Creator and listen to His Word.

Dear friend, this is the simple reason why the world is so filled with vices and evil today.

Whatever you expose yourself to becomes the source of attraction for you.

Parents spend so much time working hard to provide food, shelter, clothing, holidays, gifts, toys, etc, but neglect to work similarly hard to point their children to the Way of Christ Jesus their Maker.

Parents forget that the breath of life they have belongs to God, the health they have belongs to God, the food they eat belongs to God, the money they possess, cars, houses, television, radio, etc, etc all belong to God Almighty.

How do I know this? Psalm 24:1 "The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein."

Children learn from what they see, hear, read, etc so if you as a parent are unable to point them to the Way of Christ Jesus both by words and deeds, then you are failing in God's command in Proverbs 22:6 and offending God in the process.

Anyone who offends God and dies in that state will NEVER enter heaven at death. If as a parent nobody taught you about the Way of God, as you read today's post, Jesus Christ is giving you another opportunity to correct the situation.

Do not say it is too late because as long as you are alive, it is never too late to give your life to Christ Jesus and obey His commands DILIGENTLY.

Children who are stubborn at teenage years become so as a result of failure of their parents to point them in the direction of Christ Jesus at their tender age when they first reached the age of reason, usually between 5 to 7 years.

Parents start to correct their children when they have reached 10 years and above, when the child starts to resist because no proper training was given previously and the child is already used to doing the wrong thing that society taught him or her.

As the saying goes, nature abhors a vacuum, so when parents fail to teach their kids the Way of Christ, society teaches them the way of satan and evil.

Dear friend, even if you have suddenly realised your error of earlier years and found yourself in a dire situation with your kids, it is never too late.

If you call upon Jesus Christ today and NOW, with a sincere heart, He will respond to your prayer. If Jesus sees your heart that you are truly sorry for your mistake and now want to make amends, He will grant your request and win your kids over to you and His Way again.

If as a parent, you have now read this post and your child is yet to attain the age of reason, please begin now to teach your child the Way of Christ Jesus:

(1) Fear and love of God Almighty ABOVE ALL ELSE.

(2) Read the Holy Word of God, the Bible, DAILY with your family and pray together morning and evening.

(3) Ensure to go to Church every single Sunday to hear God's Word, thank Him for all He has done for you, pray to Him for your needs and the needs of others, both spiritual and material.

(4) Lead by example according to the standard of God's Word because your children will learn from what they see you doing and not what they hear you saying. Remember Jesus said “by their fruits, you shall know them (Matthew 7:16.)"

If every household were able to diligently do this, the world would be a much better place because the Word of God is spirit and life and anyone who listens and obeys will receive the blessing that Jesus promised (John 14:21-24).

Dear friend, I urge you today to become a doer of God's Word and not just a hearer (James 1:22). More importantly, I urge you to teach your children about God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, the Holy Bible, prayer, hope, faith, charity, etc and all that God commands.

If you do this, then you can be sure that you have treated your kids, God's gift to you, well and you are not far from the Kingdom of Heaven.

May the good Lord bless you as you heed His Holy Word today, act on it and share with others in Jesus' Glorious Name, Amen.

Gabriel Ama.