Godly Parenting Is Not A Sacrifice, But An Investment in Eternity

While  parenting does involve some sacrifice, Godly Biblical  parenting is not a sacrifice, but an investment in eternity.

Sacrifice is giving up something that you want to keep  in order to get or do something else or to help someone. It is usually used in a bit of a negative way, almost like a form of suffering.

For example, we suffer many sleepless nights as we give up our sleep to care for our children, or we give up that new car we want, so we can provide for the needs of our children.

A better perspective of parenting is to think of it as an investment. 

We aren’t losing anything (or giving up anything) when we invest in our children. We are exchanging temporary things like our time and energy for eternal treasures in heaven.

Think of it in terms of money.

When we invest $500 in a CD for 15 years, we look forward to the extra money we will get as a return on that investment. However, when we give that money to the bank, we get NOTHING at the time except a paper saying we have deposited the money. We know the return will come later.

And so it is with parenting.

We work hard to teach and train our children, investing our time, effort, and energy. Often there is no visible immediate return for that investment. However, we know that  the “return on our investment” is coming, because  we are investing in things of eternal value. We aren’t losing, but we are gaining.

Our children are the only treasures we can take with us to heaven. Christian parenting is a life of investment, not sacrifice!

Godly parenting that is not a sacrifice, but an investment will require us to invest the following:

1. Our time

To have the most influence on our children, we need to spend time with them. We need to do things with them, and live a life before them that will point them to Christ.

The more time we invest in them, the greater our influence will be.

If we want to influence our kids for eternity, we need to purposefully spend  time with them. Kids become like the people they spend time with, so this is a very important investment that we should make in their lives.

2. Prayer

One of the best things you can do to influence your kids for God, is make a commitment to pray for them on a daily basis.  Prayer moves the heart of God, and is one of the most powerful ways you can invest in them for eternity.

We should start praying for our kids before they are even born, and never quit praying for them even when they are adults.

Prayer is power, and God invites us to access that power for our children.

Praying Scripture for our kids is the most powerful way to pray, because as we speak God’s Word back to Him we are bringing that power right into their lives. His Word has power that our words don’t have, and will change their hearts and lives.

If you want to get serious about praying Scripture for your kids, I invite you to go through our  Praying Biblical Virtues For Our Children 30 day Prayer Journal.

Another option is our Praying Through Proverbs For Your Children ebook. This book will guide you as you pray through the book of wisdom one chapter a day for your kids.

If you don’t pray for your kids, WHO WILL?

3. Teaching and training

It is our job as parents to bring our kids up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

We are to talk of His Word as we walk, sit, stand, etc. In other words, we should be teaching them about God and His Word ALL THE TIME. This takes time and energy, but it is our job as parents.

•  Have intentional times when you teach them God’s Word, and memorize it together.
• Have planned times when you train them in Godly character.
• Throughout the day just talk of Him and apply His Word to things that come up.

For example, when you are outside and see a bird, remind your kids that God made the birds. When you tell your kids you love them, remind them that God loves them too.

When they need correction, show them what His Word says about that behavior.

It should just be a natural thing  to teach and train them in His Word daily, and it is a great way to invest in things that are eternal!

What a powerful investment, which God promises will prosper, and not return void. He guarantees a return on this investment. (Isaiah 55:11) 

As you invest in your kids in these three ways, keep in mind  that the results (dividend) probably won’t be immediate. Once in awhile you may see little bits here and there, but remember that you are investing NOW because of that expected return.

God promised the return, so that means that we should stay faithful with our investing, while leaving the results to Him.[magicactionbox]