How to parent according to Deuteronomy 6
In this post I’m going to point out the most important thing about parenting that the Bible has to say…
TALK ABOUT GOD’S WORD WITH YOUR KIDS – INCESSANTLY
That may sound a bit “over the top” but it’s very obviously what the scriptures teach. Read it for yourself…
sts of your house and on your gates.
Notice a few very important things about the SEQUENCE of this passage…
- A proper honor/respect of God, AS GOD must come first in YOUR heart (the parent).
- YOU, the PARENT must FIRST love the LORD with all you are.
- The Word of God must first be on YOUR heart, as the parent.
- THEN AND ONLY THEN, will you be able to teach them to your children effectively.
Let’s walk through those… one at a time:
Respect of God, AS God
You need to know and honor God for who He is. You, the parent. You need to do that.
The world will try to foist all kinds of ideas about God on your kids. 99.9% of them will be wrong. Your knowledge and honor of God are the main corrective to those lies.
As their parent, you need to be able to set the record straight – tell them the truth – and do so out of a heart of deep, earnest conviction.
Love God with all YOU are
This one is really quite simple. If you don’t love God, why would you expect your kids to?
I’ve beat this drum before, and it won’t be the last time.
It takes diligence and hard work. It takes intentional pursuit of the LORD, day after day.
But it is SO worth it. For you. For your kids.
The Word of God must first be on your heart
Do you see a pattern here? The role of the parent is one of example as much as it is one of guide.
Nobody likes a “do what I say, not what I do” example. We all want to see it, in the flesh, lived out for us to believe and be inspired by.
Your kids are EXACTLY like that.
They need (and want) to see YOU loving the word of God, reading the word of God, memorizing the word of God.
Then they will believe you when you say it’s important.
Then you should teach the word of God to your children
The examples given in the passage are “Old-testament” examples… things that fit the day in which the passage was written.
For us it could easily read, “Talk about God’s word with your kids around the dinner table, in the car, when you tuck your kids in, and when they wake up. Put God’s word all around you, on the walls of your home, make it unavoidable.”
There are many, many helpful resources available for families today…. to help you saturate your household with God’s word.
How to parent…
- BE a godly example
- TEACH your kids to follow your example
What ways have you discovered to put these principles into practice?
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My boys are 2 and 4, so our teaching will surely change as they grow. Right now, we’re just trying to establish the pattern that they see us take out a book, talk about Jesus, and pray with them. For my two-year old, it’s just him seeing what we do and learning when to close his eyes, put his hands together, etc. For my 4-year old, we’re starting to talk to him more about the content of scripture and the content of praying. It’s amazing what they get!
@Loren Pinilis Sounds like a good plan you are working on with them. You are right, our kids get so much more than we expect. One of my future podcast guests says some important things along that line. Be looking for that episode with Desire Miller on or around December 3, 2012. Blessings Loren – and thanks for the consistent engagement. I don’t take it lightly.