Because of the Coronavirus lockdown during the month of April we didn't get as far as I'd hoped. The age old issues portion is meant to target our young fathers who have children at home. At the same time, I'm hoping that those of you who have already raised your children to adulthood will make a concerted effort to be a voice of wisdom for how to deal with the age old issues. Throughout the history of mankind, there has always been about five childhood issues that can derail your child's Christian walk. How you deal with these issues will go a long way towards helping your children make it to adulthood with their faith intact. At that point, they will determine their relationship with Christ on their own. Hopefully, you've given them every reason to hold on to their faith. The input and lessons learned by those who've already raised their children is highly sought after.
PEER PRESSURE: It is inevitable!! No matter how much you love your children, they will have to go out into the public space, play with their friends, and family. You can't protect them from it, you can't lock them away in a castle, or take them to a deserted island. Every child will eventually have interaction with their peers. In today's modern world, the number of Christian homes is small in comparison to homes where the parents are agnostic at best. In the end, these children will interact with yours. We've already discussed this a little bit, but I told you then that we would be coming back to it later.
Let's be abundantly clear men, just because you love God with all your heart, communicate with your children in love, and lead them to salvation, is no promise that they can't be undone by the wrong peers. Peer's and peer pressure are probably at the heart of many young Christian adults leaving the faith. It is an age old issue that we find in the bible from Genesis to Revelation. There is a bible filled with stories of children abandoning the faith of their mother's and father's. There is an entire book of the bible dedicated to helping children resist peer pressure. What is that book? Ummm, the book of Proverbs!!!! I know that sounds so simplistic, but I had two lessons on peer pressure prepared but, I want to hear what you guys did to help your children navigate the dangers of social interactions with children who are hell bent on doing bad things. What do we do to help our children avoid peer pressure to do things against the word of God. The saddest story of peer pressure is that of King Solomon. We know that the book of Proverbs was written for his children, but we have the sad tale of his son Reheboam. After all of Solomon's admonitions to seek wisdom, and to behave in a princely manner, Reheboam let his peers steer him the wrong direction. Be prepared to discuss what you think happened, and how YOU think we can help our children navigate their social interactions with their peers.
Finally, just be prepared that no matter what 'plans' we make to solidify the faith of our children, we may have to face the terror of seeing our children reject our faith. How you deal with that, and how they respond is more of a measure of your quality as a father than your success at securing their faith in Christ.
For tomorrow's discussion; How do you protect or help your child resist peer pressure?
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