‘The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again. But one disaster is enough to overthrow the wicked.’ Proverbs 24:16(NLT)
‘“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. ‘ John 15:5(NLT)
‘But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”’ Acts of the Apostles 1:8(NLT)
‘For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. ‘ Romans 3:23(NLT)
‘Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.’ Ephesians 4:32(NLT)
‘Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way.’ James 3:2(NLT)
‘If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. ‘ 1 John 1:8-9(NLT)
‘For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy.’ Hebrews 10:14(NLT)
As much as we try to raise our children well and examine our hearts before God while doing it, we don’t always get it right. Sometimes, in our parenting, we are tempted to use the old adage: do as I say, not as I do. The truth is that we do live in this world and we make mistakes. As much as we try not to be hypocritical, we are also not perfect. What do we do when we sin, or when we err? Is there room for failure in godly parenting?
The answer, surprisingly, is “Yes!” The Gospel is the main thing that we need to teach our children. In other words, we need to teach them that people have a sinful nature. We need to teach them about Christ’s sacrificial redemption. We have to tell them about forgiveness. We should show them what it means to be progressively sanctified. The Bible tells us that we all stumble in many ways. None of us is without sin. Family is the place where forgiveness is constantly needed and confession of sin is constantly practiced.
To fail is not to be a hypocrite. That is not what hypocrisy means. Hypocrisy is wearing a mask. It is being a play actor. It is playing a role that is not you. Children can absorb a lot of failure on the part of their parents when they know that their parents are genuine in their love for God and genuine in their love for them. That’s where we need to really test ourselves. It is about our hearts. We need to ask ourselves, “Am I repeating things just to sound right? Do I really believe the things that I am saying?”
Just like everything in our Christian walk, parenting is about faith. We must ask ourselves if we really believe the Word of God and if we are striving to teach our children to believe it too. Christ said that we can do nothing without Him. That includes parenting. We need the power of the Holy Spirit to parent right. We need God’s help in this important life endeavor. He is always there to answer our prayers and to give us the strength necessary to be a godly parent.
from How To Be A Good Christian Parent