Having Faith for the Next Generation

7/25/24 – 07/31/24

Parenting Our Children’s Hearts

By Michael Youssef, Ph D.  07/26/24

As parents, we have an unbelievable opportunity to focus on parenting our children’s hearts and inward beliefs.

Some new parents seek to repeat their experiences from childhood, assuming that is the best practice. Others vow not to repeat their adolescent experiences for their kids, faulting their parents for their unhappy childhood. Still others base their parenting style on the expectations of other parents in their social circles.

But are any of these approaches to parenting reflective of your personal faith in God?

To pass on spiritual and moral values to build up the hearts and characters of our children in righteousness, we must take time with our kids to model a godly lifestyle and show them unconditional love with no favoritism. Family Bible reading and discussion can help instill Biblical Truths in the hearts and minds of our children, as can Scripture memorization and prayer. And you may have other Christ-honoring methods for developing a love of God and His Gospel in your children’s lives. That’s wonderful. But the key we must remember is to move from ideas to action. It is easy to allow this priority of leading our kids in spiritual growth and Truth to fall to the wayside.

Long hours committed to work schedules, multiple employment commitments because of lifestyle issues, and a myriad of other interests can adversely affect even the best efforts to allocate enough time to parent our children’s hearts and inward beliefs.

Begin a concerted effort now to explore opportunities that will contribute to your family heritage.

Prayer: Father, help me to model to my children a life committed to You. Show me if there is anything I need to change in my parenting habits. Help me to spend time in the Word and in prayer with my children. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

“Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it” (Proverbs 22:6).