Day 11: Parent--The Teacher, Part 1

(Click HERE to catch up with the rest of this series!)
 

A parent is many things: nurturer, provider, cuddler, dish-washer, cook, snot-keeper, chauffeur, vomit-cleaner, maid, laundry-washer....

Yes, a parent is many things.

But at the heart of it all, a parent is a TEACHER.

Now, teaching comes naturally for some people, but it may not come naturally for you. :) Perhaps you don't even like to teach. You may find it easier to just give your teaching responsibilities to other people: school teachers, daycare workers, church leaders, coaches, music teachers, or even other parents...

Whether you desire to be a teacher or not, God's Word teaches us in Deuteronomy 6 that PARENTS are to be TEACHING their children:

"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 to thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up."

These verses show us three things:

*1.Parents are to be teaching their children what they have already LEARNED.

You cannot teach if you are not an expert in that field. No one would call me and ask me to do a lecture at the local university on Physics because I am clearly not an expert in physics. :)

If you're trying to parent with a "Do as I say, not as I do" attitude, you're setting yourself up for complete failure. The passage in Deuteronomy addresses the parents first for a reason:

You cannot teach what you have not already learned and applied in your own life.

If you do not love the LORD passionately, sacrificially, whole-heartedly, and without hypocrisy (that is, you're not living for yourself all week and then showing up for church on Sunday and faking your relationship with the LORD), you are not fooling your children, and you can not and will not teach them to love the LORD.
You cannot teach what you have not already learned.

If you do not forgive those who have hurt you (no matter how deep the hurt!), love those who have offended you, show mercy on those who gossip about you, and attempt restoration 70 times 7, do not expect your children to forgive others.

You cannot teach what you have not already learned.

If you are selfish by nature, wanting your own way, putting your own needs above all else, and idolizing your "me-time", do not expect your children to think outside of themselves.

You cannot teach what you have not already learned.

If you are harsh with your children and excessively physical in your discipline, do not expect them to be gentle with their siblings. If you expect perfection from them all of the time, do not be surprised when they struggle with forgiving YOU when you fail them. If you are slow to show mercy yet quick to show anger, do not expect them to show anything less to the lost and hurting world around them.

You see, You cannot teach what you have not already learned.

---Often the best parent is the one who daily sits at Jesus' feet and then, like a mother bird feeding her tiny chicks, offers the morsels of righteousness to the children in their care.

Commit to studying, learning, applying, and then TEACHING your children.

*2.Parents should be teaching their children with a purpose: DILIGENTLY.

The passage in Deuteronomy I quoted above says, "teach them DILIGENTLY to thy children", that is, that parents should be teaching their children with a purpose.

If a young person wants to be a nurse, a lawyer, a school teacher, a scientist, a musician, a journalist, etc, that they must get a lengthy, thorough education before even attempting to begin their career.

Yet there is no college degree, no apprenticeship, no thorough education offered for the most difficult (and most important!) job on earth: PARENTHOOD. You can conceive a baby, give birth, and raise it to adulthood without having a single CLUE as to what you're doing. (Sadly, we see the results of half-hearted parenting all around us.)

God's Word teaches us that parents are to be teaching their children diligently.

To be truly diligent at anything takes T.I.M.E. It takes planning. It takes effort, drive, determination, dedication, and some stinkin' HARD WORK!

Have you purposed in your heart to teach your children diligently? Are you willing to put in the T.I.M.E. it takes to do a thorough job at your parenting career? Or have you been struggling to survive whatever stage your child is in, sliding through by the skin of your teeth, hoping the next stage will finally bring some relief?

Commit to teaching your children DILIGENTLY.

*Parents are to be teaching their children OFTEN.

God meant for Godly parenthood to be a full-time career. "...and shalt talk of them (TEACH) when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up."

When you're sitting together, when you're walking together, when you're going to bed at night, and when you're getting up in the morning---You are to be teaching your children OFTEN.

You cannot teach your children often if you do not spend ample time together.

You cannot teach your children often if are too busy with your own career to focus on their needs.

You cannot teach your children often if the television is teaching them for you.

You cannot teach your children often if you're too busy talking on the phone or surfing the Internet.

You cannot teach your children often if they are with their school, their church, their sports, and their friends more than they are WITH YOU.

Commit to teaching your children OFTEN.

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We are to be diligently and frequently teaching our children the things that we have already learned.

Whether you want to be a teacher or not, if you are a parent, you ARE teaching. :)

Tomorrow we'll look at three areas in which parents can--and should--be teaching their children.

Blessings, dear friends. May you find JOY in your parenting journey!