Aristotle (384 BC-322 BC)
The Conversation
Teen: “They’re fake.”
Mom: “You really think they’re not believing? Then what about me? You think I’m fake, too?”
Teen: (hesitates)
Mom: (disheartened) “I may not do Christianity well, but it is real to me. I’m not faking it.”
The QuestionsTwo weeks later, this article surfaces. Are teens faking Christianity because their parents are?
The best way to grow a child’s faith is to have your own.
So now I’m looking twice in the mirror. Am I a fake? A poser?
I know I’m not faking strength.
Just ask me. I know I’m weak. If you listen, you’ll hear I’m crushed each time I visit my mom. Yes, I’m still able to go on (most of the time), but it’s not because I’m strong; it’s because God is.
I know I’m not faking happiness.
Ask Jeff. He’ll let you know the “depressed” word has passed my lips more than once. Yes, you’ll still see me smile some because I have deep-down joy, but it’s not because I’m happy with my present circumstances; it’s because God is bigger than my circumstances.
But what about my faith? Am I faking that?
I ask myself. Do I believe God promises a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11)? Do I trust His timing is just right for me and my family? Do I know I don’t understand His ways because they’re so much higher than mine (Isaiah 55:9)?
The Answers
Yes, I believe. Yes, I trust. And yes, I know. I hear me preaching answers to me a lot these days. And I listen attentively to hear others remind me, too.
I know I’m not faking faith.
I don’t have as much as I want, but what I have is alive and breathing.
“Example isn’t another way to teach,
it is the only way to teach.”
– Albert Einstein
Fight against fake. Examine your authenticity more closely. Are you being fake in ways you don’t even realize?
Kids see through fake.
If you want your child to have your faith, studies say do good things together not just inside your church, but also outside your church. This strengthens your faith credibility.
And do it now: your window of opportunity to influence your child’s faith closes fast.
If your child’s faith turns out just like yours,
will you be satisfied?
Answer this:
- If I want my child to trust God will always take care of her, am I living like I believe God always takes care of ME?
- If I want my child to turn everything over to God, does she see me release worry and turn over all of MY concerns to God?
- If I want my child to know there is nothing God can’t handle, am I showing her by MY life and words that I believe that?
If your #1 parenting goal is to raise your child to believe in Jesus, then make sure you do. Build your own faith; stay in the Word; grow in the Lord.
Be real. Purposed. Definitely not fake.
Kids are more likely to grow in faith
if their parents talk about why they believe.
So now
I’m reminded to put more God-talk behind my actions. I want to be intentionally and unmistakably transparent.
Mom: It was hard visiting Nana today. But you know why I go?
Teen: Yes.
Mom: (preaching to both of us anyway) Because I love her. But also because I want to honor her. And I want to honor God. And I can honor God by taking care of her. Do you get that?
Teen: (no hesitation) Yes.
Mom: (whew—for today anyway)
* * *
Will you be satisfied if your child ends up with a faith just like yours?
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9 comments:
Knowing how to talk about faith is the hardest thing. Kids have such an eye for fake, and also for preaching. I want to live it so they ask, and then it's neither. Will I ever achieve that lofty goal, though?....
By the grace of God, perhaps.
That's really powerful, difficult question you ask at the end of this post, Lisa. Honestly, I don't know what my answer is right now. But I am working toward the right answer, I hope.
Wow. Ouch. It grieves me to think of the times my children have seen me profess with my lips that God is sovereign over all the universe, then watched me try to wrest control over my circumstances. Thanks for stopping by my place today. Blessings to you in honoring your mother and ministering grace to her. (Also, I don't twitter, but saw your note about goose hunting and laughed. Can't tell you how many turkeys I've had in the yard when my husband was off in another state chasing them!)
When you see words in your family journal that say, "2day is my appt. I'm very anxious to see what dr. says, hope God will perform a miracle and I will not need surgery, but if God wants me 2 have surgery, then I will. Because, "I am the Lords servant, let the Lord do to me what he wants." This is what my daughter wrote. I'm hopeful that her faith and trust is in God.
i'm like the others-this was a powerful post. my littles are so little and sometimes my faith seems as far off as their understanding. and yet, i want (NEED) to practice it now so that i'm not faking it when they do see, and know. i want them to have a faith that surpasses my own, which tells me i need to stake a higher claim in the one who loves me so much.
Stopping in from Holy Experience...and so glad I did.
How easy it has been for me to get sucked into the analyzing and the fear and the weight of worrying if I'm doing everything "right" as a parent! Some days, I wonder if I've ruined them for life, but then I remember that they are in HIS hands. HE is working out His good, pleasing, and perfect will in their lives. There is still, of course, the need to grow and change and improve, but my focus needs to be on my relationship with my Abba. What an important question: Will I be satisfied if my child ends up with a faith just like mine?
Thank you!
Thanks for the Albert Einstein quote... Libby has a project due on Friday about him and needed two quotes. :-) Ha!
"Will you be satisfied if your child ends up with a faith just like yours?" That speaks directly to me. Thank you for your post. I hope you won't mind that I linked it on Facebook. I wanted to share that with my friends. Thanks again. ~~Rhonda
Loved this! thank you!!!
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