TRAINING THE HERITAGE OF GOD

Bible References: Psalm 127: 3-5, Genesis 1:28, Matthew 18: 1- 6
Jesus rebuked the disciples that were trying to chase children away from Him and He called them to Himself (Matthew 19: 13 – 15, Luke 18; 15 – 17). He had reasons for doing this. He knew they were innocent creatures; they don’t harbour evil or un-forgiveness. They relate freely with everyone, their hearts are like white slates; whatever they are taught by adults gets inscribed on their hearts. They are true masters and experts of whatever training you give them. Jesus made use of the opportunity to inscribe on their hearts heavenly instructions and taught the adults around him then, how to train kids. Children are God’s given gifts, parents are just guardian and caretakers. The same way God delegated Mary and Joseph to nurture Jesus Christ in His childhood. Parents will definitely report back on how they manage these great gifts cum tools given to them.

Christians that do not have children are not cursed. There is no barren woman in the bible except Michal, the first wife of David with a strong indication (I Samuel 18: 20 – 27). This proves that parents are care-takers; it pleases God to give those that have them. Children are great instruments in the hands of God only if parents are wise enough to help them to fulfil their destinies in Christ. Parents should never forget that they also passed through childhood. The experiences some persons had as children are the basis of their life’s problems. This keeps on going as a generational cankerworm but Christian parents should abort the devilish generational traits. No wonder, Jesus paused to teach these children in the presence of the grown ones in the scripture so that they can correct the inherited errors and adopt the right ones as ordained by God.

Children grow up to be teenagers and adults, their lifestyle will determine if our society will have a peaceful or chaotic environment. Presidents, Governors, Senators, Ministers, Commissioners and all political leaders of today were once children. If they were trained to fear God and they acted according to the will of God, choosing leaders would be much easier. God would also be happy that He created man. However, the opposite is what we have nowadays. Some parents are the architect of serious problems their children are facing today. The problems are so deep that except they are saved and thoroughly delivered, they may suffer for so long. Unfortunately, most of these parents are no longer alive to bear the pains with these children. Some other parents are far away from the light, so they cannot be good mentors. Others are alive, gnashing their teeth in agony of their past mistakes, hoping for instant miracles to correct them. The bible says train up a child in a way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it (Proverbs 22:6).

Let us just imagine how peaceful the world would be if all parents in the world brought up their kids in a Godly way. There’ll be no hoodlums to put into prison for possible corrections on actions of rape, theft, robbery and fraudulent acts. There will be no prostitution, abortion, murder, drug addiction, drug barons, no fear of peer pressures, negative influence on children in the school nor cultism. There will be no problems handed over from generation to generation, knowing that parents attitudes influence the children. When the foundation is faulty, the innocent upcoming generation suffers, except they become saved and obtain deliverance from evil habits and consequences. If there is good parenting, Oh! The world will be peaceful and lovely to live in.

Wrong parenting started from the time of Adam and Eve, the foundation was faulty and you can see the rebellion act produced from their seeds as one killed the other. Beloved, apart from the personal sin that God will judge, most Christians can totally miss heaven based on the account of how they train their children.

Biblical examples of bad parenting
There are biblical examples of those that missed it totally based on the way they trained their children and one of them was Eli, despite the fact that he was a priest ordained by God. It is true that the faith of parents cannot save a child but parents are to help them by nurturing them right from the point of conception. We can see the influence of parenting in the life of Jacob as his mother, Rebecca, helped him to manipulate his brother’s blessings to himself. The parenting style of Joseph’s parents caused hatred and envious dispositions from his brothers added with the revelation of his dreams.

Biblical examples of Godly parents in the bible: Mary and Joseph, the earthly parents of Jesus Christ of Nazareth and Hannah, the mother of Samuel are good examples of godly parents in the bible. Mordecai was a good guardian to Esther. There are others cited in the Bible like Timothy’s mother and grandmother.
Good parenting measures: Parenting is challenging but with God’s help, all things are easy and possible. The following are few among many to guide us as parents.

Proper marriage: Faulty foundation will produce faulty fruits. Wrong foundation can be redeemed by Christ, when parents acknowledge and change their ways. Avoid polygamy, this has ruined many.
Pray for them: Start from the point of conception, birth and stages of their development. Always ask God for leading especially when children are making decisions that can affect their destinies.Preach Salvation to them, don’t wait for church pastors or Sunday school teachers to do that.

Study Each Child: Take time to study each child. Don’t compare them with each other or any other child, build up their confidence.
Moderately provide for their needs. Avoid extravagance in meeting their needs. Teach them to depend on God in time of difficulty.
Correct their weaknesses on time: Don’t attribute it to childhood. and if there be any stubborn attitude you cannot handle, turn it over to their heavenly father.
Don’t love one at the expense of others and if you do, don’t make it obvious, it can cause grievous enmity and devil’s foothold among children. Remember they are unique as individuals even if they are twins.
Avoid the use of negative words and curses. This is habitual among some unbelieving parents. The devil is making use of parental confessions on children to destroy their destinies.
Behave and dress well in their presence, they learn fast on what they see than what you say.
Help them to manage social media positively. Give answers to their social enquiries positively regardless of their age. We are living in a technologically advanced age.
Make God their foundation: Use of the Bible to train them with the fear of God alongside with good education as well as sex education according to their age. Please watch out the type of school in which you enrol the kids.
Give them your shoulder to lean on, don’t allow intruders to do that, give them chances to open up their fears. Let them trust you as parents and be happy to have you as parents. Don’t impose on their ideas or decisions, prayerfully guide their ideas or decisions.
Inculcate discipline and train them laws guiding peaceful society and the consequences of breaking the law. Correct them in love and don’t spare rods when needed.
Pray into their future including the type of friends and mentors you want for them as they grow and do pray for their marital life. Redeem them from foundational errors and mistakes.

Biblical References on Parenting
Exodus 20:12; Colossians 3:21; Ephesians 6:4; Hebrews 12:7 – 11; Proverbs 13:24; Proverbs 29:15, 17; Proverbs 1:8 – 9; I Peter 5: 2 – 3; Deuteronomy 6:6-9; Psalm 78:1 – 7

May our fruits follow us to paradise as we care for God’s heritage and may we rejoice having them as precious gifts from God in Jesus name. AMEN.