By Dr. Teena Welborn
Blended families are common today. Whether we have adopted children or have married someone with children, blended families should always focus on a consistent path to follow God’s plan.
These children come from different backgrounds and need stable godly standards for their success as well as the sanity of the family’s daily routines. Children should know God and His purpose for them. That means they should “daily” witness a godly example through us as parents, step-parents or adoptive parents.
The world wants to tell us that what happens behind closed doors is our business, but I am not a believer in that worldly/secular view. Children are leaving the church at alarming rates because they are seeing two different Christian examples. They “see and hear” at church, and they “see and hear” at home. It’s confusing, so they leave the church because they don’t know the truth.
Research tells us that 8 out of 10 youth from evangelical Christian homes walk away from their faith by the age of 23 (Brown, 2006). That’s shocking! There are tons of scriptures that support parents so we know what is right and godly. These are some of my favorites:
- “Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.”
- Ephesians 5:4
- “Now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.”
- Colossians 3:8
- “Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips.”
- Proverbs 4:24
In a study by Lifeway, here are some characteristics of children that parents listed as indicators that they were parenting well:
- Has good values
- Finds success in life
- Graduates from college
- Lives independently
- Has faith in God
Only 9 percent of parents listed faith in God as being important. In my opinion, the list could have been:
- Loves God
- Feels the love of God
- Follows God’s plan for them
- Knows their godly purpose
This can happen when the children witness the love of God and obedience to our Heavenly Father “inside the home.”
If the parents are living worldly and
secular lifestyles, it is confusing for
our future generation.
Remember, 100 percent of our happiness comes from God. Let us continue to pray for our children, our family unit, and that we as parents are acting in a way that is a witness to our children. Let’s be a godly Christian couple inside our home, especially with adopted and stepchildren who might have come from different or unstable backgrounds.
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.
