Twisted Parenting

How does your Parenting report card look? Are you doing okay? We see examples of bad, twisted, parenting in the news daily. We shine when compared with them! Up against God's standard, however, what would your grade be? How can we be an A student when it comes to raising our kids to serve Jesus?

Parents today are busier than ever before in history. We live in a fast paced world where many things demand our allegiance and we are committed to a variety of good things. We teach our kids to stick to an instrument or a team or a sport and commit themselves to developing the necessary skill to excel and push their team on to victory. We understand that, to be good at anything, means we devote our time and energy to it. 

We see parents that become really twisted in their thinking, wanting their child to become a superstar, pushing them beyond reasonable limits. Not good! Done well, with appropriate boundaries, however, it is good to push your kids to excellence in life. But, how is your knowledge and commitment to excellence translating into showing your children what it means to follow God? Do you ever think about that? 

Believers often claim that Jesus is their #1 priority. When that is truly the case, walking with Jesus is valued above all other commitments and is lived out in your daily life. Therefore, as a follower of Jesus, your primary objective in parenting is insuring that your kids know God. Obviously, you can’t make them follow Jesus, just like you can’t make them a superstar on the swim team, HOWEVER, you can make sure they attend practice, buy the special milk that will build their muscles, purchase the proper swim gear, participate in the fundraisers, pay the fees for the swim meets, align them with successful trainers, follow the coaches orders and cheer them on from concrete bleachers in a hot and humid natatorium several times a week. That is what we do when we are a committed and supportive parent.

How do we translate that kind of commitment into cheering them to victory on a spiritual level? If your level of commitment in that area is taking them to church with some regularity, you are leaving much to chance. That is like having them practice their instrument a couple hours a month and expecting them to play like Beethoven. Or buying them a speedo and expecting them to swim like Michael Phelps.

When we are already so busy with life that we find ourselves exhausted most of the time, how do we add a commitment to nurture our children’s faith? The prophet Isaiah helps us with that…

Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;

They will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not be faint.

Isaiah 40:31 (NLT)

The Hebrew word used for hope or in this passage is KAVAH. “Originally, kavah meant to “twist” or “weave,” as strands of a rope, making a tool capable of holding a heavy load securely” (www.hebrew4christians.com). If there is a heavier load than the responsibility of raising children, I haven’t found it. Knowing that we are responsible for building the next generation of leaders in the world is profoundly overwhelming, but when we weave God and His plan into our daily lives; when we twist ourselves into His holiness; when we bind ourselves to Him, our strength is renewed and we are able to work smart…not just hard… and soar, allowing Him to be the wind beneath our wings.

If your prayer for your kids is that they will learn to soar with eagles, then twist more of Jesus into your daily life. The words you say, the decisions you make, the people you invest in, those who you allow to shape you, the way you spend your time and your resources will all begin to reflect that you have become part of God’s tapestry. You will find that you will be strong enough to raise your children with Godly values. You will be able to commit to reading the Bible and applying it to your life. You will be able to make decisions based on what God values rather than what society dictates. You will raise children who will value the God who has made you the person He created you to be.

Don’t stop the Weaver. Give Him the shuttle and allow Him to make your life and your home into a beautiful tapestry of His strength and goodness. Let His faithfulness and truth be twisted into your everyday life and be woven into Almighty God and His story. Now, that is the proper type of "twisted" parenting!