“Teach Your Children to Love Jehovah” (10 min.)
Parenting is one of the biggest challenges a Christian marriage will face, and more so in today's system of things.
There are many concerns that arise around the decision to have children, there are also many blessings. Many of these concerns are beyond our control, such as illness. And in many others, parents play a fundamental role.
There is a very common and true saying: "Children are a mirror of their parents." And this is combined with what is often said about: "children are like blank books."
What things will our children write in their blank book? Because according to what they write in it, they will live the rest of their lives with this book.
Still, there are many things that are beyond our control about what they can write in this book, and in the end, it is they who write it. Parents cannot force you to do the things they do.
These phrases that they write in their book and are beyond our control are for example: the social and cultural environment in which they develop (teachers often know our children better than we do, they can spend more time with them than with a parent or working mother).
Another aspect that is beyond our control are the friendships they may have within these schools or even in their lives that we are unaware of. It does not have to be totally bad, but they do not share the high divine standards that we teach them, and we already know what the morality of this system is, even in the smallest.
We have said that children are mirrors of their parents. A non-Christian parent has a very different morality than a Christian one. And in the end, your son imitates his behavior, a son who shares a lot of time with ours at school.
Not long ago, in a Watchtower we have studied how to fight evil with good. Because good is more powerful than evil. So we have to see the constant struggle of our children, they will receive many negative influences from the world no matter how hard we try to fight them, more than that, the best way to do it is with good, it is with the Word of God.
LET'S READ: DEUTERONOMY 6: 5
"Love Jehovah your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength."
Our children do not yet know Jehovah, but we do. That text is directed to the mirror, to his parents. The Bible is very clear. Although we cannot force our children to serve God or to be baptized and dedicate their lives. In fact, we cannot force them to do anything when they are of legal age. If we can set our example, if we can instill in their hearts from an early age our love for God.
If we do so, a good son instructed in Christian truth will be able to imitate his father, not his father's love for Jehovah. Rather, it will be he himself who develops his own love for God and his relationship with him.
But of course, for this we have to set the example first. Parents need to be conscientious students of God's Word, read it regularly and meditate on it. Everything we do, our children are seeing, they are seeing the love we have for God.
Not only that, but by studying the Bible with our children, as he grows up, he will verify in his long way that what his parents are teaching him that God says is really true, and it benefits him in everything that makes.
If a father does not love God deeply, does not have a very close relationship with him, he cannot demand that his son do.
This occurs in deep topics down to the smallest daily actions. Everything counts, and although we do not perceive it, our children's brains are doing it. We are going to give two very subtle examples of this circumstance.
First. Our children may come home from school with new expressions that amaze us. And immediately we tell them: "that is not said." And it turns out that in a certain situation or context, we hear ourselves say the same thing. What lesson is our son learning?
The second. It has been a hard day at work and we arrived exhausted, just today is the day of family worship. And now we say: "we leave it for tomorrow because I am very tired." What are we teaching our son? The time will come when he will be able to say that he cannot one day because he has to study, the father himself will tell him that Jehovah is more important but… what difference is there for the son between one situation and another?
They seem like very subtle things, but do we remember what we said at the beginning? A blank book in which they not only write what we tell them, but what they hear when they are not with us.
LET'S READ: DEUTERONOMY 6: 6
"These words that I am sending you today have to be in your heart"
If what we teach them is not in our hearts, they will not be in theirs. If we can make excuses, our children will too. And we will be agreeing with what the world is teaching them.
Our children see what is really important to us. And as a son's love to their father, they will want their parents to be proud of their children. If he sees us studying the Bible regularly, frequently and we do not miss any study, meeting and preaching. Children may want to do the same.
If they see that we are always late for work and postpone everything else. How will children imitate their father's example to make him feel “proud” based on what he is seeing?
The dreams, ideals, values and interests of the parents have to be related to the Kingdom of God. Only in this way will parents fight with good the evil that the world can take root in the hearts and minds of their children. They must see that our service to God is a priority and everything else is less important and fleeting.
And how is this accomplished?
LET'S READ: DEUTERONOMY 6: 7
"And you have to instill them in your children and talk about them when you sit at home, when you walk on the road, when you go to bed and when you get up."
Parents have to deal with spiritual matters with their children, they have to deal with all kinds of matters so that they are prepared and have biblical arguments to combat the evil of this system. They should take advantage of all kinds of situations to talk about God, being also understanding and flexible, not overwhelming their children.
It is one thing to take opportunities to talk about God or what He says about a certain issue, and it is another thing to scold, reprimand, harass, or lecture them. Communication with your children always has to be open in uplifting and constructive dialogue.
There are many topics to talk about with a child, and they are very curious. They like to fill in that blank book and that is why they constantly go around when they are younger asking questions, they want to know things. There are a wide variety of topics such as Jehovah's animal creation, the beauty of the planet, the diversity of cultures and customs of people, etc.
A multitude of topics that will change as our children grow, and there will come a point where many of these topics will be controversial and we may want to avoid them.
A very common example is the so-called taboo topics. Talking about sex with our children can be very uncomfortable and there may be parents who never even broach this topic with their children. Is this positive? What does the Bible say about this? One thing must be clear, children are curious ... if parents do not fill that curiosity with what the Bible says, others who do not believe in God will.
And if others do it first, they will be infecting our children with a bad thought. If your parents approach this subject, however uncomfortable it may be, with the biblical stance. Our children will have a solid biblical argument to combat this bad thinking with good.
If a parent does not address an issue because it is uncomfortable ... we can be sure that the world will, and will do it in its own way. As it is the only answer our children have, they will accept it as good because their parents have not instructed them in what God says on this matter. And when your parents find out, it may already be too late.
Let's not leave gaps in the minds of our children so that other people can fill it. The Bible doesn't do it, what does the Bible do? Give us the answers to fundamental questions that nobody knows. Likewise, give our children the answers they need to combat the immoral thoughts of this system.
A good Christian marriage of parents who really love Jehovah and who have instructed their child in all kinds of subjects and matters about what the truth of God says can trust him. And this is an important part of raising our children.
Jehovah instructed his son Jesus, protected him, and cared for him. But it wasn't always on top of him either, it didn't protect him from everything. Rather, he let himself be the one to deal with certain situations. Jehovah had full confidence in his son Jesus and he demonstrated this by being an example.
A good father and mother, instructs his son in the truth and protects him when he must protect him, and trusts him when he has to. A father cannot make all the decisions for his son, in fact, he should not, especially when he is already a teenager.
A father, who has instructed his son well, relies on the love that his son has been building around Jehovah, so that he himself will make his own decisions and face certain situations.
This will only be possible if we have exemplified this love for Jehovah and the principles of pure family worship have been instilled in their hearts. It is very important to instruct our children at all times under a strong and solid biblical foundation.
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