By Dr. Teena Welborn
Raising children is difficult with so many different books, advice, ideas, and strategies, but as a Christian parent, it is important to follow biblical guidelines when raising our children. This is the most important thing we can do for them. God knows what He is doing, plus He created our children. I will face Him one day and answer to the way I raised my three boys. There are things I would have done differently for sure.
If we follow God’s Word, we can’t go wrong. That being said, we will be going against friends, possibly our church family, and even some of our own family members. In today’s world, there seem to be so many gray areas concerning right and wrong, especially when raising our children. We are not to go by our feelings but by what God says. I recently heard a preacher say, “When we are shepherded by our feelings, we will not be led to green pastures or beside still waters” (Psalm 23). I believe that also goes for being led by whatever is easier or makes us happy. We must be led by what God says, no matter what.
Jesus tells us that Satan comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but He comes that we may have life and have it to the fullest (John 10:10). If the enemy can trick us through our emotions, he can trick us into believing the opposite of God’s instructions when raising our children.
A recent example: I wanted to take my granddaughters to the movies, but I had to ask my son and daughter-in-law first so they could research the content of the movie. We have to protect our children’s innocence. We must be aware of the way Hollywood directors blatantly or sneakily place themes like homosexuality and sexual scenes in media/movies. That industry is trying to create a norm for our children, but we don’t want their standards to be our children’s norm.
Remember while raising Christian leaders, stay focused on the Word, because Satan wants:
- our families broken
- our families in chaos
- our families unhappy and overwhelmed
- us to be disbanded by arguments over discipline
- our families in disagreement about what our children can or cannot do
- our children playing us and our spouses against each other
- our children to see all other families as “fun” and “better” than ours
A final “how to” for raising leaders is to create an atmosphere in the home that honors God. Fight the enemy with everything you have using God’s Word. It is important to start early setting the standards in our families so our future leaders are not confused and “will” and “can” focus on what God has planned for them. It is our job as a parent to always be in the Word, teach the Word, and allow them to see us living out the Word. This is the greatest way to raise leaders for our next generation!
Dr. Teena Welborn is a retired educator and author of “Raising Whosoevers to Be the Heart of Our Schools.” Dr. Welborn and her husband of 37 years, Cliff, live in Florence, Mississippi, where they raised their three boys. They are members of First Baptist Florence. She can be contacted at tlmwelborn13@gmail.com.