 |
| Take every opportunity to teach your children by example and sometimes with words, and see how the Lord blesses you. |
“Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation,
and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?
“For I know him, that he will command his children and his household
after him and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment;
that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.” (Gen.
18:18-19)
Abraham’s family would be blessed because Abraham would teach them to
follow God’s commandments. Abraham would teach them to be just and fair. These
attributes, though not always followed by the Israelites over the years, were followed
exceptionally well by a later descendant: the Savior of the world, Jesus
Christ. The example of Abraham in keeping the commandments of the Lord showed
us how we can receive the blessings promised to those that are faithful.
Without teaching children to keep commandments and failing to
establish a moral compass, parents have played a role in creating some of our
social problems. Research has shown that as the family has become less stable
and parents become less involved children struggle in many ways.
Children that grow up in an unstable home, where homelessness is a
possibility, are more likely to be more aggressive and more delinquent, while
also being more likely to be anxious and depressed. Mother’s of children
without a stable home are more likely to drink, smoke and use drugs during
their pregnancy than mothers in a stable home environment. And the children in
those homes are more likely to go to the emergency room by the age of 5 than
those in stable homes. (Research by the Institute for Children, Poverty and Homelessness,
www.ICPHusa.org)
Our school systems are constantly berated for failing to teach
America’s youth to succeed. According to familyfacts.org, parents hold as much
or more responsibility than the teachers.
“While academic research has consistently
shown that increased spending does not correlate with educational gains, the
research does show a strong relationship between parental influences and
children's educational outcomes, from school readiness to college completion.
Two compelling parental factors emerge:
“ 1. Family
structure, i.e., the number of parents living in the student's home and their
relationships to the child, and
“ 2. Parents'
involvement in their children's schoolwork.
“Consequently, the solution to improving
educational outcomes begins at home, by strengthening marriage and promoting
stable family formation and parental involvement.”
Familyfacts.org research also states, “Those who
attend religious services each week tend to volunteer more in their local
communities.” That’s no doubt aided by the teachings received at church and
probably taught at home.
Moses explained the importance of teaching our children and keeping
the commandments to the Isrealites as they traveled in the wilderness
“And thou shalt teach [the
commandments] diligently unto 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.
“And the Lord commanded us to
do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that he
might preserve us alive, as it is at this day.” (Deut. 6:7, 24)
My favorite part is when Moses tells them that it’s “for our good
always.” No matter how inconvenient or difficult the Lord’s commands, they are
always for our good.
We have discussed a few of the ways teaching your children to keep the
Lord’s commandments can benefit our society, but there are many more. Try it!
Take every opportunity to teach your children by example and sometimes with
words, and see how the Lord blesses you.
Next Week: The Importance of Mothers
No comments:
Post a Comment