Teach your children well

Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds…Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up (Deuteronomy 11:18-19).

What is your favorite thing to talk about? Many people enjoy talking about sports; they have an amazing memory for statistics. Others like talking about cars or trucks; visiting with them can be like spending time with a mechanic. And there are people who are fascinated with politics and social issues; they know an amazing amount about public policy, the law, and the voting records of politicians.

People who are passionate about something spend a lot of time talking about it, especially with their children. So I ask you: what do you talk about the most with your children or grandchildren? Is it sports? Is it cars or trucks? Is it politics or a social problem? Or is it Jesus?

You can measure how important Jesus is in your life by how much you think about Him and talk about Him. When you are faced with a problem, do you first pray for God to share His wisdom with you? When you are involved in an activity where your hands are busy but your mind is not, do your thoughts wander to the teachings of the Bible? Do you feel that the most important thing that you can teach the youth in your life is to know the Lord?

Through Moses, God said fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds…Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. God wants us to be thinking about Him with the kind of passion that we devote to our favorite pastimes. He wants us to remember Bible verses the way that some can remember sports statistics or engine specifications. He wants us to be as passionate about our religious beliefs as some are about foreign policy or the environment. The Lord wants us to value our relationship with Him as the most important thing in our lives, and to make the sharing of that relationship with our youth the top priority of the brief time we have with them before they grow up and move away. When we live like this, we honor God’s command: Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength (Deuteronomy 6:5).