One afternoon, while driving home from the office, I was listening to the news on the radio and the announcer was talking about school being out for the summer. He said that the children were all excited, but many parents were not. One parent commented that having the kids at home all day was going to be “pure hell.” What a sad commentary on parenting. The Bible tells us that; “children are a gift of the LORD”.
Raising children can be difficult at times, yet the Lord gives everything we need to be successful parents. In our previous study we looked at three of eight biblical principles for raising our children well: Teaching our children to fear the Lord, teaching them to obey the Lord, and guarding their hearts. Today I would like to add two more to our list, choosing friends and teaching purity.
1 Corinthians 15:33 says “Do not be misled: Bad company corrupts good character.”Unfortunately, because parents fail to communicate with their children, they find the answers to their problems somewhere else, usually from their peers. Sometime ago in a survey, conducted by USA Today, found that teens under stress would listen to music as their first choice of coping. Their second choice was their peers. Moms were thirty-first and dads were forty-eighth. Regardless of how well you communicate with your child, their peers will always have a significant impact on them. You need to help them to choose friends wisely. Teach your child to steer clear of friends that lead them into sin. Proverbs 1:10 says; “My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent”.Verses 15 and 16 says; “do not walk in the way with them. Keep your feet from their path, for their feet run to evil…”Proverbs 17:17 and 18:24 tells us a true friend is one that “loves at all times” and who “sticks closer than a brother.” If you teach them when they are young, they will make wise choices when they are old. Teach your children to choose friends wisely.
A fifth important instruction is to teach our children sexual purity. Sexual temptation is one of Satan’s biggest lures in his tackle box of enticements. More teenage lives are destroyed by this one sin more than any other. With the Internet, television, and music, opportunities for exposure to pornography and immorality abound. Recent studies reveal the tragic affect of such influences. According to research from Family Safe Media, the average age of the first internet exposure to pornography is nine years old. And there are plenty of websites to be exposed to. There are over 5 million pornographic sites available today with over 68 million search requests daily. More than 2.5 billion emails circulated every day.”
Don’t be so naïve to think that your child is the exception, you need to be aware of what they watch, and know what they are saying and doing on their computer, smartphone and social networking sites. If you guard your children’s hearts when they are young, and teach them sexual purity as they grow older, you will be a wise parent. Proverbs 5:8 says “keep your way from the adulterer, don’t even go near the door of her house”. 2 Timothy 2:22 says to “Flee from youthful lusts”. If your children are taught to honor the Lord, they will take God’s instructions seriously, and you will save your child and yourself from many regrets. Read Proverbs chapter two, five and seven for further study.
Next week we will continue our study as we look at several other truths for wise parenting. If you would like to know more or need prayer, we would love to talk to you. Contact us at 425-432-0634, or go to www.taylorcreekchurch.org. We invite you to join us join us this Sunday, 9:00 AM for Sunday School and 10:15 AM for Worship. We are located at 21110 244thAve S.E. Maple Valley WA.
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