Week Fourteen (December 5) - Parenting

Wow. Being a parent is tough. One of these days, odds are that most of our students will become parents. Scary. Hopefully our students are being taught at home what Godly parents look like. Many of them are but sad to say many of them are not. This study will hopefully give them a birds eye view of what Godly parenting looks like so that they can have a good foundation of where to begin when they become a parent one day. Also hopefully this will stir in their hearts the desire to pray for their parents and love and encourage them.

The goal of parenting, just as in all of life, is to be faithful to God and glorify Him. Parents should be committed to Jesus, their spouse, their family and to their neighbor. So more than anything parents should strive to be a faithful instrument in God’s hands for actively bringing up a child according to biblical principles. Ultimately parenting is about Jesus Christ. The goal of parenting is not to force a child to become a Christian. This is something we cannot do. Children are born enemies of God and we pray by God’s grace they will become the children of God. Parents are to be faithful to teach their kids about God and trust that God will do as he pleases with them.

CHALLENGES. Parents face many challenges. Here are three big ones: First there is a challenge of keeping the right motivation. We should strive to please God not ourselves or others. Denying yourself is an big aspect of parenting. Second there is the challenge of keeping the right focus. Biblical parenting is not complicated. It is challenging, but understanding principles is not hard. Putting them into practice, however, can be like pulling teeth. One of the reasons it is hard to keep focused is that we love quick fixes and they are none in parenting. Parenting is a life-long process. The focus should be to be consistent and do not hurry the process. The third challenge is keeping the right balance. Parenting is not the sole focus of the Christian parents life. It is important, but should not be their whole world.

ROLES. There are five specific roles a parent takes on. The first role is that of disciplinarian or a nicer word might be trainer. Biblical discipline involves love and wisdom. The parent should not excessively control the child or provoke the child towards rebellion, but should lovingly correct and encourage a child. Discipline is more about correction and protection than it is about punishment. The second role is the role of teacher. The parent should seek to place in the child’s mind what is right and correct. Parents should teach by example, through life situations, answering and asking questions, and even formal teaching times. Parents should seek to teach the fear of God (who God is), they should seek to teach about sin and that all people are worshipers (Rom 1), they should seek to teach thinking of others before themselves, they should seek to teach good stewardship and they should seek to teach about relationships. The third role is parent as encourager. Parents should seek to encourage their kids not provoke them to anger by changing the rules all the time, humiliating them in public, not setting limits, not being involved, not listening, or being a hypocrite. Parents should encourage the kids and point to God when they encourage. The fourth role is parent as evangelist. The parent should understand that children are not born Christians. They should always being pointing to Jesus in all they do. The fifth role is parent as prayer warrior. Parents should pray for wisdom, a child’s salvation and protection, strength as a parent and for the child to have healthy relationships with others.

Parenting is difficult but the reward is great. God uses parenting to teach parents and change then to be more like Christ. Good parenting will always be rewarding because the parent knows they are pleasing the Lord.