By bro Lee Tian Seng
God wants parents to raise children successfully, and we should let God’s word show us how to do it. We are responsible for our children because we brought them into this world.
Proverbs 22:6 – Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.
The Bible teaches that fathers are to teach their children the way of the Lord, and mothers are to love and care for their children.
Ephesians 6:4 - And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.
Titus 2:4 - And so train the young women to love their husbands and children.
In marriage, God desires for couples to have godly children.
Malachi 2:15 - But did He not make them one, having a remnant of the Spirit? And why one? He seeks godly offspring. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously with the wife of his youth.
We should not expect others to raise up our children. Some parents think that the responsibility of raising our children lies with the government, the school, the child care centres, or their own parents and relatives. These people can help us, but the ultimate responsibility lies with us as parents. The world does not have godly goals when it comes to teaching and guiding children. Only we know what is important for our kids, and thus we should be the ones raising our children and teaching them God’s word, so that they will grow up to be Christians and have the hope of eternal life. If we do not do this, no one will.
The Bible shows us examples of good parents. Abraham commanded his children to keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice.
Genesis 18:19 – “For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice, that the Lord may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.”
King David wrote in the Psalms that he would teach his children the fear of the Lord.
Psalms 34:11 - Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
Joshua understood his responsibility when he affirmed that he and his family would serve the Lord.
Joshua 24:15 – “And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of [e]the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
These men believed that they are responsible to teach their children God’s way and to lead them to put God first in their lives, and to serve Him. They did not shirk from their responsibility but were obedient to God’s commandment to raise godly children.
On the other hand, we have an example of a father who failed to raise his children in a godly way. He is Eli, the priest.
1 Samuel 3:12-14 - In that day I will perform against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. For I have told him that I will judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knows, because his sons made themselves vile, and he did not restrain them. And therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.”
Eli did not restrain his children from doing evil, and he lived to regret it because God killed both his sons in one day for their evil deeds.
1 Samuel 4:17 - So the messenger answered and said, “Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has been a great slaughter among the people. Also your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead; and the ark of God has been captured.”
If we do not raise up our children as God teaches us to, then we will regret when our children lose their hope of eternal life because we did not teach them the Gospel and the importance of obeying God’s word. We will also be judged by God for our failure in doing our part as parents.
Ecclesiastes 12:14 - For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil.
Let us be mindful of our responsibility to bring up godly children and work on it.