“Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22v6
The world appreciates that a human life is very precious. No wonder ambulances carrying a life at risk are given way in busy roads. As Christians, we go further than this to respect human life. This appreciation makes us highly regard the role of Pbeing a parent. The role involves raising up a human life. Parents have one of the biggest responsibilities on earth. They look after a human being from a womb to adulthood.
It is critical that l correct the idea of having kids so that they look after you. This expectation is not biblical. From Genesis to Revelation, children were not the ones assigned the role to look after their parents but to respect their parents. Abram (later Father Abraham) asked for kids who would inherit his household wealth (Genesis 15 v 1-6). Houses and riches are supposed to come from parents (Proverbs 19v14). This is the biblical ideal we should aim for as we look after our needy parents who are so because of several reasons, most of which are not of their making. For the young – don’t have kids to look after you but to inherit your estate.
When God entrusts you with one of the biggest gifts, which is the ability to reproduce humans on earth, you ought to responsibly use it. Make sober decisions that benefit the hugeness of the role. On average, each child needs about 23 years of heavy parental involvement financially, spiritually, socially, and sacrificial time commitment. How committed are you to multiply the effort by number of kids you wish to have? Africa has perpetuated poverty by misusing this reproductive potential. The desire to have kids does not match the ability to provide. The deficit is heavily empoverishing in the form of responsibilities to extended family members and society at large. As great as Isaac was, he only had two sons. Doesn’t that ring a bell in your head? Where human lives are involved, don’t speculate too much to avoid unnecessary suffering of innocent souls.
Wise parenting involves sacrificing quality time to shape the minds, behavior, and attitudes of children within a household. Parents must be thoughtful of interventions to make to attain the desired goals in their children. Too few parents have intentional plans and rituals to attain this.
As parents, you are not in a contest to be loved by kids, but you have a concerted effort to use one standard as father and mother. Intentionally or unintentionally, children must not be made to think one of the parents is better, kinder, more considerate, less strict than the other. At worst, children can separate a couple unknowingly; parents must watch against this very possible danger. Seeking favor with children at the expense of your spouse is unwise and destructive.
One’s first language is termed mother’s tongue because it is imparted by the mother raising her child. It is not only diction and dialect but also the wisdom guiding the talking, including timing, tone, pitch, quantity, and quality of words used in the home the child is being raised in. If you believe life and death are in the power of the tongue from a young age, teach your child to wisely use his/her tongue to create a pleasant world.
In Genesis 18v17-19, the Scriptures show God choosing Abraham to raise a great nation because of his qualities of exemplary leadership and ability of commanding his household in the ways of God. If we do the same, as descendants of Abraham, we will surely raise champions from our homes. If we don’t, God will not be pleased with us just as he is not pleased with Eli. (1 Samuel 2 v 12-36). The Bible in Proverbs 17v25 goes on to say; “A foolish son is a grief to his father, and bitterness to her who bore him.” In some way, the type of child you raise brings you joy or sorrow.
A parent ought to teach and demonstrate by exemplary living the virtues of life such as the fear of God, honest conduct, integrity, virtue of hard work, and fairness. The moral fabric, habits, mannerisms, and other character attributes of a person are created at home by parents. If you want your children to be avid readers, let them see you read a lot. If you want your children to pray every day, pray with them every day. The way you show love to your elderly parents is roughly the same love you have asked your kids to give you later in life. As a parent, remember to set the right example.
Many start parenting well but struggle to finish well. The most painful part of parenting is the day a child leaves to start his/her own family. The family has begat another family. The mature parents are to support the new family in every way possible. Parents must try not to burden the new couple but support it. If possible, as you are parenting your children, plan to be financially independent of your children. Most of the times financially dependent parents are a big threat to a new couple. The new couple will have many financial needs in the first decade, yet most unprepared parents are most needful at that point. This normally ends up straining the new marriage
