I thought for the next few blogs, I’d address the topic of building character in children. First off, I’m no expert. I’ve made my share of mistakes as a father to my children, rearing them. And there have been times of delighting in them, and times of great sadness in witnessing their errors. However, the time my wife and I have had raising them, has been a blessing from the Lord.
Let’s get started:
Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
Proverbs 22:6
It takes years of training, to grow good strong character. Good character develops through strength and wisdom. God gave parents roughly 18 to 20 years to raise their child, teaching them to do what is right, deciding the correct choices to make when faced with such decisions, being godly in character, strong, happy and moral.
I was blessed with grandparents that took me in when my mother had become sick. She had MS, and dad was working long hours to make ends meet, but also was a heavy drinker, which I believe was his escape from reality.
The values I hold today came from my grandparents. Grandpa, a calloused English man, who was a little over 6 feet in height, was a dairy farmer. He believed a man was to work hard, by the sweat of his brow. For him, some days were 18 hours long, some 12 hours…depending on the time of year.
My grandmother, a homemaker, a mother, a grandmother, was a gentlewoman who loved her family. Short and stout, she made it a point to help those when the need had risen. And cook! Oh my, she could make the best beef soup and steam pudding on this side of the Atlantic.
It was them,who shaped my character to what it is today…but I was far from perfect! Something was missing…it was Jesus Christ.
The largest influence on one’s character is accepting Jesus Christ as their Saviour. It is that step of realizing your sinful nature, repenting of those sins, and allowing Christ’s headship of your life, the indwelling of the Holy Ghost.
Parents, the best thing you can do for your child, starting right now, is teaching them the precepts of the Bible. Read to your children daily Bible scriptures. It is a great source of molding godly character. Also, daily prayer. Prayer in the morning, prayer in the evening is great in character building. Make time for it!
Learning the Word of God and coming to God daily in prayer, not only gives help and guidance, but also gives the greatest influence on Christian character.
Parents, instead of giving your children material things of this world, such as money and property, give them a strong, godly, happy character. That is the best thing you can give your children. Then he or she can make money and acquire property.
Friends, one more piece of advice, if you have a television…throw it! Why would you allow perversion into your home? Murder, Sodomy, Sexual perversions, Witchcraft, etc…the list goes on. The same can be said about cartoons and children’s movies. Disney is the biggest purveyor. Desperate Housewives, Gay Days at Disney World, again the list goes on. Disney has raised a generation of whores and whoremongers. Hannah Montanna/Miley Cyrus, Britney Spears, and Justin Timberlake.
Ye that love the LORD, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked. Psalms 97:10
We’ll talk more next week on building character.
God bless, ‘till we meet again,
Dave
1611kjbible 