Do As I Say, Not as I Do

“And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. – Deuteronomy 6:6-9 

As parents, we will make mistakes. Our biggest failures as parents can become the greatest opportunities to admit that yes, we make mistakes. When we admit our wrongs and allow our kids to see how we mess up just like anyone else, we give them a biblical example of humility, love, and forgiveness to follow.

Deuteronomy 6:6-9 offers a roadmap for how we are to live out our faith in front of our children. What we believe must make its way into our daily attitudes, conversations, and routines.  We can teach our kids what the Bible says, but if we want them to live according to its truth, we need to live it. If we want our kids to have a growing faith and love God’s Word, we need to demonstrate its importance in our lives. A “Do as I say, not as I do” approach to parenting just doesn’t work. You can’t fake it as parents. If we don’t model a genuine relationship with Jesus Christ, there is little chance our children will grow up to possess what we lack.  

The first thing we can do is to allow them to see the importance and joy of God’s Word in our life so they too can develop a growing love for Him and His Word. They need to learn to receive their guidance for living and serving from the Bible. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 tells us, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.”

Fortunately, in the US, we can easily obtain the entire 66 books of the Bible in our own language.  We can do no less than share it with our children, teaching them by our examples and our words to learn it, to love it, and to depend on it for direction as they grow and become responsible for their own decisions.

Give them an external perspective. Our kids have so much stuff tugging at them—the Instagram likes, popularity at school, athletic achievements, pressure to conform. But this world, and all these things that seem so important in their hearts, it’s all going to pass away. 

Discussion Questions:

1. What can we do to ensure our kids love God’s word? 
2. What can we do to give them an eternal perspective?