A child does not have to be taught How
to be happy Or
the ways of Love
It is fear, hatred,
and prejuidice That they have to be taught. And
from the condition of the World We
can see That unfortunately There
are some very good teachers Javan
We attended the Kingdom Builders church again yesterday.
I mentioned it in Part 1....it was at this church that this series began in my
heart.
Lil Mister was of course...amazing! He was sitting on his
Papa’s shoulders, hands in the air, singing to God. He’s nearly three....yet, he
worships with more of his heart than many adults who’ve known God for 30+
years!
I wanted so badly to get a photo of this, but it is quite
dim during worship and I don’t want the flash on the camera to bother the other worshipers....so sadly...no photo!
Today, I want to touch on this a little bit more though.
I want us to ask ourselves ‘why aren’t we worshiping as a child, carefree and
wholly?’ And secondly, what is our lack of pure worship teaching our children?
Have you ever noticed that if a child hears you genuinely laughing at a joke, they'll join in on the laughter even though they don't know why? But try giggling at that same child in a fake manner, pretending because you are trying to get them to laugh their cute adorable laugh. They'll look at you like you're crazy!
A child can see straight through us. They pick up on
hypocrisy in an instant. As teenagers, it was our greatest weapon against our
parents! ;-)
“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other
people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your
Father who is in heaven.” Matthew
6:1
What exactly is this verse telling us? Are we not
supposed to worship in groups then?
No, we are to come together as the body of Christ and
worship....it is our motives behind what we are doing that we must question!
And He said to them, “You are the ones who justify
yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed
among men is an abomination in the sight of God. Luke
16:15
For now do I persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to
please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ. Galatians 1:10
My pastor used these verse as examples on Sunday talking
about our motives in Godly acts. Why are we doing what we’re doing?
This was what children see. Despite all of our
efforts....children know when it is fake. Lying is something they learn...and
they learn it from us! They learn it from our actions....from our daily lives!
The old adage of ‘do as I say not as I do’ died a quick
death because it never worked to begin with! Children use this against us in justifying
their own actions. They will use our own hypocrisy to ruin the influence we are
attempting to make on their lives!
Have you even listened to the drunk at the party talking
about how when he was eight years old his dad sat with a beer in his hand and
told him ‘don’t ever let me catch you drinking’? He remembers that particular
moment because of the hypocrisy behind the situation!
Sadly, this is what we’re doing to our children in our
spiritual walk with God! A friend of mine has flatly said to me that she doesn’t
believe in God, but she is attempting to raise her children in a Christian
manner! How will this work? Will her children not then believe that they can
live their lives how they want but still claim Christianity?
So....what is the point Shana?
Why is Lil Mister raising his hands in the air? Is it
because he is simply mimicking what he sees...or is there more?
Yes, a part of him was doing what he saw others doing. Yet, he felt comfortable doing it, same as the laughing child, because it was real! That is the BIG picture here, peeps! It is about what is real. It is about what they see and experience every.single.day! It is about how much pressure we are putting on their spiritual lives through our own!
We are exposing our children to authentic worship through
our own lives. Yes, there are weeks where a part of us just wants to attend
church without the kids so that for once we can focus 100% on the service, but we
continue to take them each and every time because they need to see it is real!
But it doesn’t stop there! We are worshipping God at
home, in the cars, and at work. We don’t leave it at the church steps as we
walk out. We bring it home with us.
If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in
darkness, we lie and do not practice truth. 1
John 1:6
So this week, I want to encourage you to take a step back
and access your own worship practices before God. Are you living this out in
daily life or is it just a Sunday morning thing?
Are you trying to teach your children to walk in the Lord
but you still have one foot in the world? Is there anything about your daily
life that in view of your child seeing hypocrisy might push them away from the
Lord?
As always, be blessed!
XOXxx
Shana Danae..
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