Raising Your Children God’s Way Not the Politically Correct Way

As I see many children heading back to school, my heart goes out to them. Our world has changed so much in recent years that I am concerned for our young ones. The world is insisting we all be politically correct no matter what is actually right. Ephesians 6:4 tells parents to rear their children “in the training and discipline and the counsel and admonition of the Lord.” This is more important than making sure your child is the next Wayne Gretzky in sports or the next Josh Groban in music or the next Bill Gates in making money. There is nothing wrong with encouraging your child to do their best in their next soccer game. There is nothing wrong with encouraging another child in her singing career. All of our children are also going to have to find a way to make money in their careers because the truth is that we need money to live. However, none of these things are as important as teaching our children God’s ways. In Deuteronomy 6:6 God tells us, “And these words which I am commanding you this day shall be (first) in your (own) minds and hearts; (then) you shall whet and sharpen them so as to make them penetrate and teach and impress them diligently upon the (minds and) hearts of your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down and when you rise up.”

I remember when my children were small, I would grasp any opportunity I could find to speak of God to them throughout the day. If they scraped their knee, I would lay my hands on their knee and pray, “Heavenly Father, You see the scrape on Adam’s knee. I ask you to heal Adam’s knee now in the Name of Jesus. I take the healing that You bought and paid for when You took the stripes on your back. I receive that healing into Adam’s knee now in Jesus’ Name.”

I would point out beauty God has given us. “Look at the roses, Danielle. Smell them and feel how soft they are. God knew you would like these so He made sure He surrounded you with lots of flowers.”

Any time something came up that worried my children, I would teach them to go directly to God first even as they were older and seeking out a career for themselves. “Father, I ask You to lead and guide Joshua into your perfect will for him. Open doors for him to become all that You want him to be. I thank You for putting a love for psychiatry in him, and I thank You for giving him the desires of his heart where his career is concerned.”

I would pray before every exam they ever wrote. “Father, I pray as ________ goes into this exam. I pray you will give him/her great wisdom and knowledge and give him/her calmness of spirit during this exam. I pray that everything he/she studied will come back to his/her remembrance right when he/she needs it. ________ is the head and not the tail, he/she is above and not beneath. Everything he/she sets his/her mind to prospers in Jesus’ Name. We expect an excellent grade. Thank you, Father.”

Now my children are adults, and they know who to go to when they are in trouble. They know who can calm a worried heart. They know who to go to when they have a need in their lives. They know how to have a relationship with their Heavenly Father. They know who created them, and they know to be thankful for all their Heavenly Father has given them. Teaching them of God’s great love for them has been the greatest thing I could ever have taught them.

I encourage you to read my book, “Three Doctors: Molding & Developing Exceptional Children”. In this book, I cover what I did with my children from the time they were born till into their university years. We need more children out there who are being raised in God’s ways, and who are being encouraged to become all that they can be. We need more children who are taught to have a love and a heart for the people around them. We need more children who grow up to work diligently and with excellence in their chosen professions.

My prayer for you today is that you will let God into your life and let Him help you as you raise up the children He has given into your care. He will give you wisdom and knowledge in every way. He wants things to go well for you and for your children. He loves you, and He loves your children.