STANDARD TIMES PRESS SIERRA LEONE Christian children and family life PAGE

It is very important to raise children up in Christian homes because it is God’s commandment as stated in Genesis 1:28, “… And God said to them, be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth and subdue it…”
We have seen that having children is one of the purposes of marriage, and it is astonishing how lightly many esteem this wonderful privilege.
Paul treats family life as the normal one; “I will therefore pray that the young women marry, bear children, guide the home and give no occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully,” 1 Timothy 5:14.
Parenthood is not the same as procreation, as some people may think that they have proved their manhood or womanhood by having a child only to shed off their responsibilities when it comes into the world. They have in fact proved nothing but their unspeakable pretense.
Parenthood is a serious business, and a rewarding way too if undertaken in the way of the Lord. It begins with the act of begettal, whether deliberately carried out with that aim or not, and continues thereafter as long as life lasts.
The principles of parenthood fill the scriptures from cover to cover, for the God of the Bible is the supreme example of a coming father. He is willing and eager to share a glorious inheritance with us and just a few of these guiding principles are outlined in our normal sharing of God’s word.
Every child needs a mother and a father, and both are responsible under God for their children’s moral and spiritual upbringing.
“Hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother, for they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head…” (Proverbs 1:9-10).
Bodily neglect is usually punishable by law, but spiritual neglect is more serious. A healthy body with no moral sense becomes a terrible danger to society, and unmarried mothers are not usually able to watch over their children’s mental development properly.
Some are left to run wild; others, especially those in the care of grandmothers or aunts, are thoroughly spoiled with the habit of getting everything they desire. They grow up selfish and self-willed.
Train, teach and discipline your children. This means, above all, to set yourself as the finest example before them.
If you show yourself a bully, short tempered, cross, mean and self-indulgent, can you blame them if they follow you? If you spend most of your life trying to obtain worldly goods or vain pleasures, by fair means or foul, will your sons and daughters not believer these to be the most important things in life?
Before you go out and make a pitiful spectacle of yourself in the local bar, take something that does not belong to you, or use filthy language to those whom you do not like, think of your responsibility to those whom you have brought into the world.
Make spiritual matters the centre of your home life. Every godly family should have daily devotions consisting of a Bible reading or a story and a prayer.
Children love to act stories from the Bible, or their own interpretations of Jesus’ parables. By playing the parts they come to appreciate the sufferings of Jeremiah and the joys of Mary and the Shunamite. What better way to learn?
Children should be taught respect for other people, and other people’s property. They should be taught the sanctity of family life, and should be taught the evils of violence, which so plague our societies today by keeping them free from the influence of movies and television.
Children, being human, are basically self-centered and will not learn on their own. They need help from parents.
May God bless us all. Amen.

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