Raising godly children

By Pastor E.A Adeboye

The survival of Christianity is threatened if we refuse to raise our children the godly way. If that happens, we would have failed as parents.

“Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.” – Proverbs 22:15

It is important that we train children in the way of the Lord because whatever they learn early in life tends to remain with them for a very long time, if not forever. This means that children will grow with knowledge, ignorance or half-truths. What do you want them to grow with?

To have a future generation of true Christians, we must deliberately teach our children what God requires of them because soon, leadership will rest on their shoulders.

What does God require of His children?

•Reverence and obedience: Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 says the duty of man is to fear God and obey Him. We must teach the coming generation the fear of God which is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 1:7). They must get wisdom.
•Work: 2 Thessalonians 3:10 says whoever will not work should not eat. Tell them eating the food of idleness is not a mark of a Christian.
•Trust: Human efforts shall fail (Psalm 127:1), hence they should be taught to depend solely on God.
•Holiness: Without holiness, no man shall see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14). We must prepare them to be pure brides.
•Love: Charity is the greatest of virtues (1 Corinthians 13:13). Teach them to love like Christ, not just in words, but also in deed and in truth (1 John 3:18).
•Give: If they love like Christ, they should also learn to give to God’s work and to the needy (Proverbs 11:25).
•Evangelism: Teach them to win souls. Proverbs 11:30 says soul-winners are wise.
If we are faithful – as Christian parents, God will be pleased and a future generation of genuine Christians will be guaranteed.

Action Point:
Parents and the Church should engage in conscious efforts to offer quality discipleship training for our children, teenagers and youth.