power for parents

by Robert J. Morgan

To learn more about best-selling author
and pastor Robert J. Morgan, visit his
website at robertjmorgan.com.

Recently I read a newspaper article entitled “Parenting by Videophone.” It described working parents who call their children through the day on their videophones, checking to see if the kids have too much gel on their hair or if they really are where they claim to be. One parent said she could now look her kid in the eye when asking pertinent questions. Videophones even allow parents on business trips to blow goodnight kisses to their youngsters at bedtime.

We need every tool we can find. But in this world of high tech parenting, let’s not forget that the best parenting techniques are the oldest. A passage written by Moses in the book of Deuteronomy serves as the Bible’s foundational truth for parents.

Moses’ four previous books (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers) list one tragedy after another—tragedies that resulted from botched parenting. He described the parenting woes encountered by Adam and Eve, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Aaron among others. Yet, in his fifth book, he shared with his audience the parenting secrets gathered from a lifetime of observation, to enable them to avoid the mistakes he’d described in previous volumes.

In Deuteronomy 6:4-9, we find the Bible’s greatest secret of effective parenting: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, is one LORD: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart. And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.”

These words reveal the three greatest habits of successful parents.

Habit #1: Love the Lord deeply.  Jesus could have been talking to you or me when He asked Peter in John 21, “Do you love me?” We need to think this over frequently, making sure we really love the Lord above all else. Find a quiet place, and ask God to open your eyes to your true priorities. Ask yourself the following questions:

• What am I doing when I feel happiest?

• What best satisfies my inner aches?

• What or whom do I most fear losing?

• What loss would cause me greatest distress?

When you’ve answered these questions, you’ve discovered your god. Perhaps you’ll find it’s another person, a goal or dream, a possession or hobby, a career or a job. Begin choosing day-by-day to love Jesus above all else.

Habit #2:  Study the Word of God daily. I recall hearing my parents reading the Bible aloud in their beds at night. I remember getting up in the late hours of the night when I was a child to find my dad sitting in the den, reading his Bible. Any book that could so interest the people I loved most was surely an important book, I reasoned to myself. At an early age I, too, began propping myself up in bed with a Bible open before me. Are we giving our children the same example?

Begin reading a chapter each day from the Scripture. You might start with the Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Look for a verse each day to claim as your own. End your Bible reading with prayer for your children.

Habit #3: Share the Word of God with your children. As you uncover verses and promises from the Bible, look for opportunities to share them with your children. This should be natural and spontaneous.

One of the best illustrations of this process is found in the writings of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. In his book At Ease, Stories I Tell to Friends, Eisenhower said that when he was ten years old, he became very angry with his parents. His older brothers had gone out on Halloween, but little Dwight wasn’t old enough to go. He argued and pleaded until the last moment, to no avail. Losing control of himself, he pounded the trunk of an old apple tree in fury, until his fists were bleeding. His father grabbed him, switched him with a limb from the hickory tree, and sent him off to bed.

For an hour he lay there sobbing in the pillow. Then the door opened, and his mother came into the room. She sat in the rocking chair and said nothing for a long time. After a time, she began to talk about the temper and the importance of controlling it. Eventually she quoted Proverbs 16:32: “He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he who taketh a city.”

She had no way of knowing, of course, that she was speaking to the future military general and President of the United States. She just talked about that verse; then she put salve on Dwight’s injured hands and bandaged the worst places. Eisenhower looked back on that conversation as one of the most valuable moments of his entire life.

As parents, we must share the Scripture with our children at home, throughout our daily activities, in the mornings and at bedtime.

No matter where you are on your journey as an empowered parent, CLEAR™ curriculum can help you along the way. CLEAR™ is more than Sunday School curriculum. It builds a bridge between church and home as you and your family study the same Bible theme each week. CLEAR™ offers many tools to bring the biblical principles you learn in Sunday School into your home. Visit Randall House Publications online at www.randallhouse.com, or call toll-free (800) 877-7030to learn more about these valuable tools that equip parents to carry out the awesome task of raising children.

Robert J. Morgan, pastor of the Donelson Fellowship FWB Church in Nashville, TN, is the author of bestselling devotionals Then Sings My Soul, Volumes 1 & 2, Come Let Us Adore Him, From This Verse, On This Day, and Nelson’s Complete Book of Stories, Illustrations, and Quotes. He conducts Bible conferences, parenting and marriage retreats, and leadership development seminars across the country.