What type of role model are you for children in your life?

Deuteronomy 4:9

Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children’s children.

More is Caught than Taught

I believe it is true that more is caught than taught, and the fact is that children may not hear what you are saying because your actions may be drowning out your words. It’s hard to deceive children, isn’t it? We can teach them one thing, but if we do something different, they can clearly see through our hypocrisy. If we teach our children one thing, yet do just the opposite, we’re really teaching them to do what we do rather than what we say. If they see you regularly reading your Bible, they’ll see that you value the Word of God. The more you read the Bible to your children, and grandchildren for that matter, the more the Word of God will get into their minds and hearts, and teaching our children is the best way to ensure that they might live a longer life (Deut. 4:10).

Provoked to Anger

It is so easy for parents to provoke their children to anger and then have them grow discouraged (Col. 3:21), but parents should bring up their children using discipline and instructing them in the ways of God, but doing so out of love (Eph. 6:4). If you are a grandparent, you are also told to teach them what you have learned from God as well (Deut. 4:9). God the Father disciplines us since He corrects every one of His children (Heb. 12:6), but He does it in love. We must model discipline in our own lives and in our children’s lives for their own best interests, even when it goes against the grain of society. Just like a parent disciplines the children he or she loves, so, too, does God discipline us, His own children (Deut. 8:5), and those who the Lord disciplines are actually blessed (Psalm 94:12). If we avoid disciplining children, then it shows we really don’t love them (Prov. 13:24), so the way God looks at it is that love equals discipline and discipline equals love. I’ve talked to many prisoners who wished that their parents would have disciplined them more.

Love Them Like Jesus Does

Jesus loves children and actually loves them more than we do so He never wants us to hinder the children when they need to come to us since Jesus always received children and bid them to always come to Him (Luke 18:15-17). Parents can learn from children because they are humble, they are teachable and little ones with this type of nature will be the ones who will inherit the kingdom of heaven (Matt 19:14). When my youngest daughter asked me once to have a “tea party” with her, I found time; when she asked me to tickle her, I did and once she even asked me to wear a tutu (although I’d deny it in public) but I did, so I found time for her when she wanted her daddy. I wanted to receive her when she came to me just as Jesus received the children and bid them to come to Him.

A Closing Prayer

Great God, You have given me my precious children and grandchildren as gifts, but they are only mine for a time. They are really Yours, and I pray You keep them, protect them, and bring them into a personal relationship with You and Your Great Son, Jesus Christ, in whose name I pray.

Amen