Turning Kids To God

Dear Victorious,

We've bought our kids the videos and books, worship CD's and even an illustrated children's Bible. But they show only fleeting interest in anything we give them. We take them to church too, but how can we really teach them to love the Lord?

Christian Parent

Dear Christian Parent,

Okay, this may sound sarcastic and mean, but please hear me out. I've had the opportunity to work with children and youth as their parents brought them to church. Usually they arrived in a car with a fish sticker on the bumper, the latest Bible verse t-shirt and even religious flip-flops. The kids had their share of Veggie Tales videos, a good Bible and all the other religious trappings you can buy at the local Christian book store. But what they lacked were parents who lived it.

Once I was on a mission trip with youth in our church. It gave me the opportunity to speak intimately with each of the teens. I was shocked to realize that more than half of them came from families in crisis. Mom's in rehab, or on her third husband. Dad is cheating on Mom, won't pay his child support or is in jail. And those were the mild cases. Some of these children, of Christian parents, were even being abused in the home! It was incredible. As I got to know the kids and their parents, I realized that the parents might profess to be Christian, but their lives looked very much the same as the wretched culture they lived in.

There is a Bible verse that says, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." If our children aren't following the Lord, maybe we need to look in the mirror for the answers. Is it possible that we aren't truly serving the Lord? How committed to God are our households? How much priority do we really give God in our day to day lives?

In order to become committed, sold out Christians who love, cherish and serve the Lord, children need to see and hear their parents praying ... all the time ... and about everything. (The Bible tells us to "pray without ceasing.") Kids need to hear their parents worshipping vibrantly and from the heart. Kids need to see their parents starting each and every single day of their lives in God's Word. (The Bible says to "seek Him first.") Children should know that their parents tithe. Our kids need to see us submitting respectfully to the authority of a local church.

The bottom line here is that we have to live the Christian virtues before we can teach them to our kids. I believe this is where many Christians parents (including me) fall far short of our potential --- and fall far short of the opportunity God has given us with our children.