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Parents, here are some questions for you: How in
the world do you cope with bringing up your children
in these perilous times? Do you have any peace of mind
about their future? Upon what foundation do you base
your (and therefore, their) judgments of "right" and
"wrong"? And, on top of all that, what are you doing
to prepare them for eternity?
Is there any doubt in anyone's mind that we are living
in perilous times? II Timothy 3:1-5 describes perilous
times like this:
"This know also, that in the last
days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers
of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers,
disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without
natural affection, truce-breakers, false accusers,incontinent(lewd),fierce
(savage), despisers of those that are good, traitors,
heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers
of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the
power thereof: from such turn away."
What an accurate description of the condition of man
this is! How, dear parent, are you going to keep your
child from becoming any one of these?
When you try to teach them "right" from "wrong," what
reason can you give them for why something is "right"
or "wrong" if you don't have the Word of God, Jesus
Christ, as your foundation? How can you teach your child
that it is morally "wrong" to be selfish, for example,
in a world that promotes it? The best you can do is
point out to them that it is often not in their own
best interest to be selfish, so it's best not to behave
that way. What happens when they feel it is in their
best interest to be selfish either now or when they
get older? What will they look to within themselves
to decide whether they should or shouldn't be selfish?
Will they hear a still, small voice that says,"And though
I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I
give my body to be burned, and have not charity (love),
it profiteth me nothing."? (I Cor. 13:3) Or, will they
hear, "Look out for number one! You only go around once
in this life! You've got to do what's right for you!"?
How are you going to teach them to keep themselves
pure, not to fornicate, to wait until they're married,
when they're bombarded daily with advertisements, music,
television shows, movies, and behaviors that practically
scream at them to do just the opposite? Will the voice
inside them say, ". . .abstain from fleshly lusts, which
war against the soul" (I Pet. 2:11), or will they hear,
"If it feels good, do it!"?
Even if you could manage to instill in your children
some firm convictions about morality and decency and
some values that contradict the ever-increasing tide
of lawlessness and debauchery coming upon society, what
good would it do them outside of the Kingdom of God?
What place will those values have in a society that
exalts all manner of corruption and sin? They will need
a haven from the world and the condition of man. Where
can you parents who are outside of the Kingdom of God—which
is the ONLY haven from a world in turmoil—where can
you tell them to escape to?
Consider what the world will probably be like in 50
years. Jesus Christ spoke about a very troubled world
in the last days (Matt. 24). With the Lord you can have
peace in your heart regarding your children's future
because they will always be able to find sanctuary in
the Body of Christ.
The Word of God declares that ". . . when the enemy
shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall
lift up a standard against him." (Isa. 59:19) As long
as your children follow the Lord, they have a fulfilling
life to look forward to, in spite of a world in turmoil.
And, when this life is over, they can go on to unending
joy in heaven, rather than unending misery in hell.
Clearly, our biggest responsibility as parents is to
teach our children about the Lord, and to do everything
we can to cause them to follow Him.
So often as parents we'll neglect ourselves before
our children because we love them. We would feel terible
if they had to suffer for something we could have prevented.
For example, we may not go to the doctor when we're
sick, but we take them because we don't want to let
anything go untreated that should be treated, right?
Well, what about their future in these perilous times?
Will you, as parents, neglect to give your children
what they need to survive?
Perhaps you've felt you could manage without Christ,
but what about them? Perhaps you've even joked about
hell and said something like, "Well. at least I'll have
lots of company, ha-ha!"
Hell is no joke—it's real! (Ps. 9:17, Matt. 10:28,
Luke 16:23, Rev. 1:18, Rev. 20:13-14) Do you want your
children to end up in eternal torment someday because
you rejected Christ and, by your actions, taught them
to do the same?
You have nothing of any lasting worth to lose, and
everything of lasting worth to gain, by repenting and
making Jesus Christ your Lord and Master. And, if you
are parents who have asked Christ to be your Saviour
and Lord, the questions we need to ask ourselves daily
are, "Are we living right? Are we the example to our
children Christ wants us to be?" Can we say to them,
"Follow us as we follow Him."?
For your sake and especially for the sake of your
children, and even your children's children, don't reject
Jesus Christ and His standard for your life. Instead,
say what Joshua said in Jos. 24:15: ". . .As for me
and my house, we will serve the Lord."
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