Parents trying to raise their children to love the Lord as their primary goal absolutely must have the assistance and support of a group of other Christians dedicated to the same ideals.

Guys tend to struggle with a tendency to isolate themselves. That topic is covered every Promise Keepers - how we need accountability and fellowship with other Christian guys. It’s a tough world out there that is slowly trying to chip away at God’s word and our love for him, and the support is necessary.

Same for women. Since I’m (obviously) a guy, I never knew exactly how mean women can be to each other until my wife went through pregnancy. She went from every woman wanting to tell her every miscarriage/stillborn story they ever heard (to “prepare” her for the small possibility.. jerks), to bashing her for getting an epidural during delivery, to now bashing her for going back to work after “only” taking 3 months off.

It’s tough to avoid the “comparison game,” for guys or ladies, and it’s even tougher when we’re by ourselves. You won’t hear this from people who don’t know Christ, though. They’ll tell you that people at church don’t think for themselves. They’ll tell you that “groupthink” is bad. God has a slightly different take on people joining together in his name. (1) (2) (3) (4)

If we all turned into mindless drones the second God’s name is mentioned, I might agree to a point, but that is an extreme generalization and improper stereotyping… ironically from the same people that judge Christians as being judgemental
Being connected to a small group of other Christian parents doesn’t mean we all think the same. I’d say there are  many more issues we don’t see eye to eye on in my small group than there are ones that we do. God knows this - that’s why he makes people different.

However, we view the important issues the same.

1. God should be first in our lives,
2. The parental relationship is second - we swore this to God on the marriage altar/
3. Strong love for our kids  with a dedication to raise our children to know and love the Lord.
4. Pour out what God has graciously given us (everlasting life) to others. Material blessings also fall in with this. Love (choice, not feeling) others as we love ourselves.

If you’re not in a small group of fellow Christians journeying through your same phase of life, I strongly recommend it. Find a church that makes extensive use of small groups to carry out God’s will and hook up with them for small groups even if you still attend your regular one for services. The most important part is to get over the procrastination, apprehension, and preoccupation with how “busy” we are. I was freaked out before we joined a small group, since that was my first real social interaction with Christians besides filing in and out of church on Sunday mornings. I found that they were just like me - a sinner who is now saved, trying to fight the good fight to turn my life and will over to the care of Christ.

Categories: Random
Tags: