2 Timothy 4:3-4 “3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, 4 and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.”

SUCH A SWEET MESSAGE

We are seeing these verses lived out today as in no other time. People do not want to be confronted with sin. Anything is permissible.   They say, “How dare you judge me!” And sadly, many preachers are giving them just what they want – no confrontation of sin. They don’t want to “offend” them with preaching truth.

TEACHING MOMENT

Tell me something. How would your kids turn out if you never corrected them? When little Leroy hauls off and hits his sister, your reply would be, “Oh, I am sure he was just playing.” When Leroy turns 13 and steals from the local electronics store, your comment might be, “I’m sure there is a misunderstanding.” Now Leroy is 20 and gets into a bar fight. Now you say, “That man must have said something bad.”

That may sound too simplistic, but the path to destruction is wide. We have to confront our children’s sins and do our best to put them on the narrow path of surrender to the Lord. We have to point out when they have sinned against a Holy God. We have to hold them accountable for their sins against others. Not to do so, for us is sin. Yep, I said it. Ouch!

Just as it is a sin for the preacher to “tickle the ears” rather than preach the Word, we sin when we do not do all we can to present the truth to our children. They have been given to us for a season. We are the stewards of a precious gift. If we squander that gift by allowing them to do whatever and whenever, we have sinned against our Father and disobeyed His clear instructions on how to bring up our children.

True, we can’t force them to believe. That is a matter between them and God. But we must be constantly setting before them the truths of the Word in way they cannot ignore. We must lovingly and gently guide them toward the Father, while at the same time, correcting the path they are taking.

Will you do that? Will you accept the role you have been given by God to raise your children to honor Him in all they do? Your children will be blessed and you will too.