GODLY PARENTING

Godly Parenting

The best advice that I can give a parent raising a child in the year 2026 is to be a loving parent first, and then your child’s best friend that he or she can count on and come to for advice, direction, guidance and instructions on how to navigate life. It is very important to genuinely model compassion, favor, forgiveness, goodness, grace, love, joy, mercy, and peace. These attributes of the Christian walk are very important for their healthy development in an unhealthy world.

God gave you a child to teach and guide in the love and admonition of Jesus Christ. He believed you were the best parent that your child should have. Never underestimate the value of the trust that God placed in you. He is God and knows that the child he entrusted into your care is meant to be raised by you and not someone else. Although your child will have many teachers throughout their life, none will have a stronger impact than you. You are the first one that they will come in contact with and so therefore you the parent must establish the solid foundation of that young tender life in your care from the very beginning.

In Proverbs 22:6, God admonishes us to: “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” This means that your responsibility is to train the child that God has entrusted you with, guiding your child in the way best suited for that child according to the interests that child inclines to lean towards. You must set early boundaries and directions for them that are clearly defined before they are enrolled in schools to be taught by others who may not share your same beliefs.

In the book of Exodus we find the story of the Great Lawgiver Moses being rescued by the daughter of Pharaoh from the dangers of the Nile River. His own mother was asked by Pharaoh’s daughter to raise Moses whom she had drawn out of the Nile River. Pharaoh’s daughter did not know that Moses was the son of the woman who would be nurturing him until weaned. Therefore,  while Moses was in his real mother’s care, she taught him the way that he should go before giving up her child to Pharaoh’s daughter to continue his development in the Egyptian Courts. We later find in Hebrews 11:25 that Moses chose to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. I think this example sums it up perfectly as to the importance of training up a child in the way that he should go.

In summary, your assignment as a parent chosen by God to care and develop your child is very important. You are the one who will be held responsible for the upbringing of your child and the direction that child will take as their development unfolds. Though parenting is a very difficult responsibility in this generation, seeing as how we are closer to the return of the Lord, it is of utmost importance to do all that is in your power to teach that child with visible examples of godly behavior that they can model their lives after.

Your influence will be seen in the way that child develops and matures into adulthood. Make the right choices and model godly behavior following the teachings of Jesus Christ and other positive examples outlined in the Holy Scriptures. Share the Word of God with your child by reading the stories of the Bible that will help shape their lives into solid maturity. God bless you and help you with this beautiful treasure He has placed into your loving care!