WHAT DO YOU WANT YOUR CHILD TO BE?
President Theodore Roosevelt had four sons. He was very proud when the first three sons announced their intention to join the military. But when his fourth son also decided to join the army, the old Rough Rider balked. “Not all my boys,” he said to his wife. But she replied, “Ted, if you raise them as eagles you can’t expect them to fly like sparrows.”
Every parent should have a dream for his children. Isaiah put it this way, “And all your sons will be taught of the Lord; and the well-being of your sons will be great” (Isaiah 54:13).
Three things I want you to consider:
1. YOU ANNOUNCE WHAT YOU WANT YOUR CHILD TO BE BY WHAT YOU TEACH HIM. It’s not the church’s responsibility to teach your children. It’s yours as a mother and father. Several years ago I talked with a man who at one time had been in a non-Sunday school congregation. When I asked him why, he said, “We did not object to classes. What we were afraid of was that parents would quit teaching at home.” Was he right?
2. YOU ANNOUNCE WHAT YOU WANT YOUR CHILD TO BE BY THE EXAMPLE YOU SET. It’s amazing how some parents put the ball games, camping trips, golf games, and fishing trips above attending worship, and then are amazed that their children leave the church. Someone wrote, “What you are thunders so loudly that I cannot hear what you say.”
3. YOU ANNOUNCE WHAT YOU WANT YOUR CHILD TO BE BY THE PLANS YOU MAKE FOR HIM. Your children know if something is really important to you. Have you been saying from the time they started school, “Now make good grades so that someday you can go to college.” They know you want them to get a college education. But what about your spiritual dreams for them? Have you encouraged them to be a preacher, a missionary, Bible school teacher, elder, etc.? By your plans, you’ve told them what you think is important.
–Dick Marcear