In the Law of Moses, the Lord told Israel: “You shall therefore impress these words of mine on your heart and on your soul; and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall teach them to your sons, talking of them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates” (Deut. 11:18-20).
While parents want to modify their children’s behavior so they will grow to maturity, parents should concentrate on the heart. When a child is young, parents can start working on helping the child develop the type of heart that he or she needs to be successful, to please God, and to be a faithful Christian.
Lying is a behavior, true, but it is an issue of the heart. Losing one’s temper is a behavior, but it is an issue of the heart. Meanness, to siblings or even animals, is an issue of the heart. We might change our children’s behavior, but that change might not last past high school – as long as Mom and Dad are watching. But molding a child’s heart to fit the desires of God’s heart will have a lasting impact which will reach into eternity.
If we just focus on modifying our children’s behavior, we have a focus that is too narrow, too worldly, and too short-sighted. Developing a heart that is teachable and moldable is the better approach.
Look back at God’s words to Moses in Deuteronomy 11:18-20 and meditate on the creative ways you can teach and train your child to build a life based on the teachings and principles from God’s word. The home is the best laboratory to learn how to live for Christ and parents are the best teachers.
For the foreseeable future, our Thursday Daily Droplets will focus on “Bible-based Parenting.” We hope you find these thoughts helpful.
Paul Holland
