My wife and I have a lot of conversations that I wish could be broadcast to everyone. One of the most recent had to do with a statement I made in a sermon recently. I said, “Some of you are setting your children up for failure”. I haven’t changed my mind and I can’t get this off my mind. What we see happening in America is a national tragedy.
People often wonder how the world got in such a mess, but it is no wonder—the answer should be obvious. Considering the way the average child is raised today it is a miracle that it’s not worse. Most of them don’t stand a chance. During the most formative years of their life they grow up in homes without natural affection, discipline, or godly instruction. Then they are sent off to a public school where they are exposed to everything under the sun. How do you expect them to turn out? Why do we wonder why they lack a work ethic, sense of responsibility, respect for others, and moral standards?
The seriousness of this problem is something I can’t stop thinking about and it literally moves my wife to tears. How can we not think about it? I realize that we can’t control every area of their lives, but we most assuredly can control what they get in the home. And, that goes a long way in helping them overcome the other forces at work in their lives. If they don’t get what they need in the home, all the government programs and church ministries in the world won’t help.
If you are a parent, or a grandparent raising children, you need to understand that you are the most important person in the world to those children. Their best chance of becoming a decent person and productive citizen is you! If you fail the chances are nearly 100% that they will fail. It should be your desire to be the best parent possible, and that means giving them what they need. That doesn’t mean give them everything they want! We have too much of that already. That’s a big part of the problem today–children are running the households.
Speaking of what children need, I’ll never forget hearing Bill Rice preach a sermon entitled “Love Em, Lick Em, Learn Em”. Well, you can outline it anyway you please, but there are some basic things that all children need and Rice’s sermon dealt with the big three. Children need love, discipline, and direction. The problem is that you can give people all the information they need to become great parents, but it won’t do any good unless they commit themselves to it. That’s the biggest roadblock. We keep asking , “What in the world is wrong with these kids today?”, when we should be asking “What in the world is wrong with parents today?”What we’re seeing is pitiful, criminal, and sinful.
Certainly none of us are perfect parents, but we all could and should do better than we do. Our children didn’t ask to be born. We brought them into the world and we ought to prepare them for it and help them through it. Too many parents just sit back watching their children grow without making any serious effort to “bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4)—that is a sin. It you are a parent you owe your children and some of you are way behind on your payments. Think about it!
