The Edifier
West Allen Church of Christ
Parents Beware !
Well, the holiday season has come and gone once again and as I look across the room all the crumpled wrapping paper, the torn boxes and unfortunately, later on THE BILLS!! I wonder, what are we really teaching our kids? Many parents shower their children with all the material wealth the world can offer and never afford them the opportunity to know the Lord.An unknown poet wrote:
Daddy had a little boy,
His soul was white as snow;
He never went to Bible class,
'Cause Daddy wouldn't go.
He never heard the Word of God
That thrills the child- like mind.
While other children went to class,
This child was left behind.
As he grew from babe to youth,
Dad saw to his dismay,
A soul that once was snowy white
Became a dingy gray.
Dad even started back to church
And Bible study, too;
He begged the preacher, "Isn't there A thing that you can do?"
The preacher tried and tried, and said
"We're just too far behind;
I tried to tell you years ago,
But you would pay no mind."
And so another soul was lost,
That once was white as snow;
Bible classes would have helped,
But Daddy wouldn't go.
Paul commended Timothy because of the blessing received from a godly mother and grandmother. "When I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also." (2 Timothy 1:5) The price paid by Lois and Eunice was the "genuine faith" found in Timothy. No greater reward can a parent have than to find their children walking in the love of the Lord.
Someone said of Proverbs 22:6, "Train up a child in the way he should go and go that way yourself." The truth of the proverb is found in the diligence of the parents to train and admonish their children daily in the cause of Christ and the love of the Lord. No matter how hard we try, children will mimic our behaviour and our value systems. If our faith and service to God are weak, our children will embrace the same type of faith.