‘Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses. So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach. They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden.’ Matthew 23:1-4(NLT)
‘Jesus replied, “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.’ Mark 7:6(NLT)
‘Children, obey your parents because you belong to the Lord, for this is the right thing to do. ‘ Ephesians 6:1(NLT)
‘Fathers, do not aggravate your children, or they will become discouraged.’ Colossians 3:21(NLT)
‘For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. ‘ 1 John 2:16(NLT)
‘Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you ; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith. ‘ 2 Corinthians 13:5(NLT)
Children are great character readers, so parents cannot be hypocrites. You cannot tell your child to do something, while you do something else. You can’t teach your children anything you are not willing to live. So if you want your children to grow up loving and honoring the Lord, you must make sure that you are doing it yourself. To train your children well, you must examine your own devotion to God. You need to be honest with yourself and examine yourself daily.
For example, you want your children to study the Bible, ask yourself, “Do I study the Bible consistently?” You want your children to pray. Ask yourself, “Do I pray daily?” You should be teaching your children to love the church. Do you model what that means? If you want to teach your children to honor God with their money, you need to give faithfully to God’s Kingdom. Ask yourself, “Am I generous? Do I honor God with my resources?”If you want to teach your children about sexual purity, examine your life. Are you watching your heart and your mind? Are you being a good example of everything you teach?
The Bible warns us that this world is full of evil. There is the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life that operates here. Before you can teach your children to keep themselves pure and serve the Lord, you need to do the same. Be aware of temptations in your own life because you are your children’s primary teacher. The first spiritual teacher of our children is not the church. A local church equips parents who then are primary teachers to their children. You teach by what you say, but also by how you live. In fact, your life, your actions, speak louder than your words. For you to be a good teacher to your children, you need to be a godly role model to them.
When you are consistent in what you do, what you say will matter to your children. They will treasure your words through the years. If you are inconsistent and are a hypocrite, you will eventually frustrate your children and they will become bitter. You must live out the godliness you want to model.
from How To Be A Good Christian Parent