***Disclaimer – One thing that you will learn about me…if you haven’t already figured it out…is that I never sugar coat anything. This is one of those messages and it may hurt some feelings but I’m ok with that.***
I’m not going to beat around the bush and am going to get straight to the point. We are failing our children…spiritually. We have been for a generation or more and it is only getting worse.
It started when we took God out of the schools (Maybe before that). Now the powers that be want to take God out of the country. Kids are being taught that there are an infinite number of genders and that peoples “gender” is whatever they decide it is. They see it everyday…in school, on Tv, in magazines, constantly bombarded from every possible angle. They are taught that being gay is cool and acceptable…heck it’s the “in thing to be”(the Catholic Church is even endorsing it now but that is a subject for another time). The list goes on and on but what is missing in all of this? God, Christ, the Church.
And now at Christmas time kids are taught more about Santa than the Christ in CHRISTmas. They are more concerned with what gifts they will be getting from Santa or mom and dad than they are of the true meaning of the day. Long gone are the days of Nativity scenes in the front yards of houses on every block. They have been replaced by blow up Santa’s, and Grinches, and whatever else corporations can make money off of. We are teaching kids to be greedy rather than thankful. “Jolly” rather than joyous for the birth of a Savior.
But wait! How could this have happened? Who could let this happen? We as parents let this happen. We started being friends rather than parents. Buddies instead of role models. Accepting rather than correcting. Worldly instead of Godly. We say profane words in the house. Watch profane things on tv. Listen to profane music in the car on the way to school. Then we wonder why they are the way they are. We allow the schools, tv shows, and video games to raise them and then wonder why they do the things they do.
Some of you who are older may remember a time when it wasn’t like this. A time when there were no school shootings, when teen girls weren’t getting pregnant or having an abortion at an alarming rate. A time when there were only two genders. Do you know what was different back then? Families went to church. Families actually had dinner at the dinner table with the tv off and talked about their days. Parents were aware what their kids watched on tv but back then you really didn’t have to worry about that too much because tv shows were very different then. And, to many peoples horror, there were no video games, Snapchat, Facebook, YouTube , or cell phones. Kids actually interacted with each other and their parents. The highlight of the week was going to Sunday school. It was different times then.
Today parents are afraid to discipline their children because society says it is bad. Worse than that some parents just think it’s easier to let them do whatever so they don’t have to deal with it. We don’t make them go to church because there is “so much other important stuff and not enough time in the week”. Heck many parents don’t even go to church themselves either because they are too lazy or the Church as a whole has gotten off message or is viewed as only catering to the people who can fill their coffers the most.
Hopefully, after reading this, you are asking yourself “what can I do to change this trajectory our kids are on?”. Well it’s not to late. The first place you start is by finding a church home. They are not all bad. Find a church that teaches the Word and not tradition. Find a church that is about the gospel and not the spotlight. Find a church that is not afraid to ruffle a few feathers. There are still some out there.
After you find a good church home start standing up for your beliefs and what you know is right and Godly. Stand firm and don’t back down. Society may shun you. You may lose friends. But none of that will matter when you are standing before God answering for all you did in life.
After you begin standing up for your beliefs become more involved in your children’s lives. Be aware what they are learning in school. Know what shows they are watching. What games they are playing. What they are doing online. It might surprise you. Then…hold them accountable. It’s ok to be a parent I promise. You might actually like the adults they become because you were a parent and not a friend.
The final step is to hold yourself accountable. Don’t miss church because you want to sleep in. Stop using profane language in front of the kids. If something comes on tv that is not acceptable then turn it off (yes even if they whine and complain…they will live I promise). Most importantly be the adult that you hope your kids grow up to be.
If enough of us parents do these few little things and do them consistently you might be surprised. We might actually change the world!