August 5
Children are a great treasure in a family and the investments parents make in their education and upbringing will have eternal consequences. Because parents are adults and have life experience, they try to protect their children from the destructive influence of certain individuals, groups, or experiences that could negatively affect their children’s lives. However, most often parents minimize the risks to which children are exposed in their own family, in church, in school, in society, in relationships with friends, colleagues or neighbors. It is strange to think that while we stray our children away from the evils that come from outside the family, church, and school ... evil may even be in those places that we call safe. In fact, what should we guard our children against? We should guard them against:
I. MATERIALISM IN THE FAMILY
Aside from the fact that each family needs their daily loaf of bread, there are people who try to put value on material things and gain personal value by acquiring material things. In this way, they develop an attitude of superiority to the people around them, which feeds them pride. When people emphasize materialism, they lose sight of building a Christ-like character. If a child grows up in such an atmosphere, there is a risk that they will idolatrize material things.
II. CONSERVATISM AND LIBERALISM IN THE CHURCH
It is true that people of faith avoid the world as their model, yet conservatism can in fact lead to spiritual pride to be different, to formalism or legalism. On the contrary, liberalism is the manifestation of the flesh in the Church. When a child has such models, they can slip into pride from righteousness, given the conservative perspective, or to live a guilt-free lifestyle, happy to be in the congregation of saints.
III. ATHEISM IN SCHOOL
Today, it is wrongly perceived that evolution is a science, during which creation is a religion. It is universally accepted that science is logical arguments being promoted by scientists and therefore you should fully believe in it. On the other hand, we know that religion is not based on evidence and arguments, but on faith. Few of us, however, take the time to think that there are more logical arguments for creationism than for evolution. Also, it takes more faith to accept evolution than to accept creationism.
IV. PAGANISM IN SOCIETY
This society that calls themselves a Christian society came to the conclusion that God does not exists, that the Bible is not true, and that religion is a crutch for the ignorant, poor, sick and elderly. This same society redefined the family, marrying men with men and women with women. The society of contemporary Christians, which does not consist of born again people, is downright pagan.
V. EROTICISM IN RELATIONSHIPS
All modern cinema industries promote explicit sexuality, infidelity as lifestyle and freedom of privacy. While we guard our children against the evils of this world, it would be good for us to accept that in our families, churches, and schools there are smaller bad things that can forever influence our children to be separated from God.
|