There are seven things good parents will prioritize teaching their children. These seven truths come from The Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6 and are the spiritual foundation for successful children.
7. There’s more to life than here and now.
Matthew 6:13b, “For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” NKJV
Notice that word “forever.” You need to teach your children that this life is not all there is and that they will spend more of life on the other side of death than on this one. That’s the “forever” part. You need to teach them that if they’re lucky, they’ll live to be 80 years old, maybe a 100 years at the most. But that’s nothing compared to trillions and trillions of years in eternity! They need to understand how nearsighted it is to trade trillions and trillions of years of pleasure in heaven for 80 years of sinful pleasure on earth. We need to teach our kids to be like Moses...
Hebrews 11:24-25 says, “By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 25 He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.” NIV
This is sobering, but listen! Our kids need to know that sin is fun, but that hell is hot - that sin is temporary, while God’s judgment is eternal. They need to know that forsaking God for the fleeting pleasures of sin is NOT worth it in the long run.
Our culture teaches us not to concern ourselves with tomorrow and discourages delayed gratification. But this truth - that "There's more to life than here and now" - is God's antidote to short-term thinking.
7. There’s more to life than here and now.
Matthew 6:13b, “For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” NKJV
Notice that word “forever.” You need to teach your children that this life is not all there is and that they will spend more of life on the other side of death than on this one. That’s the “forever” part. You need to teach them that if they’re lucky, they’ll live to be 80 years old, maybe a 100 years at the most. But that’s nothing compared to trillions and trillions of years in eternity! They need to understand how nearsighted it is to trade trillions and trillions of years of pleasure in heaven for 80 years of sinful pleasure on earth. We need to teach our kids to be like Moses...
Hebrews 11:24-25 says, “By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 25 He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.” NIV
This is sobering, but listen! Our kids need to know that sin is fun, but that hell is hot - that sin is temporary, while God’s judgment is eternal. They need to know that forsaking God for the fleeting pleasures of sin is NOT worth it in the long run.
Our culture teaches us not to concern ourselves with tomorrow and discourages delayed gratification. But this truth - that "There's more to life than here and now" - is God's antidote to short-term thinking.
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