Back to School!

“Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” Ephesians 6:4

It has always struck me as odd that dedicated parents will insist that their children brush their teeth before going to bed but will allow them to “choose” whether or not they will go to Sunday School—that we will insist on 30 minutes or an hour of reading a day, but never worry that our child hasn’t heard or read a portion of God’s Word that day—that we will make sure that our children are at school on time and yet come late to church Sunday after Sunday—that we will make sure our child has money for lunch or a field trip but never see to it that they have money for an offering to the Lord.
What is being taught and modeled by these kinds of actions? We are teaching our children that physical health is more important that spiritual health—that feeding their mind is more important than feeding their soul—that the principal who monitors school attendance is more real than the God who waits to be worshiped—that having money for one’s own necessities and pleasures comes before giving to the work of the Lord.
One hour of worship on Sunday or even a week of church camp is not enough to offset this kind of teaching by example that comes in the home. Kids aren’t stupid—they see what their parents really believe to be true and how much is just talk.
It is time for us as parents to take a step back, reflect on what God’s Word says is truly important, and re-prioritize our activities and attitudes. There is nothing more important than our child’s spiritual life. Not their health or education or future.
This “Back to School” month offers us a great opportunity to recognize and repent of our failure to be the kind of Christian parent that God desires that we be, receive the forgiveness of Christ’s shed blood on the cross, and begin again the important work of raising Christian children whose first priority is the Lord.