Are We Raising Profane Children?
By Donna Shelton
I was a PK, a preacher’s kid. My father was a chaplain in the Air Force, so I was at church a lot.
When I was somewhere between 5 and 9 years old, I was playing with some other children in the sanctuary. We started to run from each other, or after each other. My mother grabbed me and in no uncertain terms made it clear to me that such behavior was unacceptable.
“This is the house of God,” she said, “NOT a gymnasium!” I was disciplined for my casual attitude about the sanctuary. I grew up knowing the things of God were Holy.
The word profane means to treat that which is holy as common.
Hebrews 12:16 calls Esau a profane person, and his father was Isaac.
Eli, the high priest, had two profane sons, Hophni and Phinehas. God struck down Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, for offering strange fire on His altar.
If these great men of God raised sons that were profane according to God’s word, it is certainly possible for the same thing to happen in our families.
I Samuel 2:12 tells us that Hophni and Phinehas had no regard for the Lord. Verse 17 explains that they were “treating the Lord’s offering with contempt.”
After studying the first chapter of Malachi, I was impressed with how important it is to God that His people honor and respect Him.
More than once in just a few verses He says: “My name will be feared among the nations.”
In Leviticus 10:3 He says, “By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; and before all the people I must be glorified.”
This is not just an Old Testament idea. I Peter 1:15-16 says: ‘For as it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy.’”
Romans 1:23 also talks about those who “changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man.” If you continue to read you will see that there we some dire consequences for that action.
How do some people, especially those raised with the knowledge of God, end up as profane people?
I’m sure I don’t have the whole answer to that question, but one answer may be that our children become overly familiar with the things of God, like me running around the sanctuary as a child.
In I Samuel 2:22-25 we see Eli half-heartedly rebuke his adult sons. That story reminds me of parents who tell their children to stop doing something, but then ignore them when they do the same thing again, rather than bringing real consequences for disobedience. God asked Eli, “Why do you honor your sons more than Me?”
We should be asking ourselves if we are guilty of the same thing as Eli. Do we love our children enough to do what is best for them rather than the easy thing or what feels good to us?
In Genesis 25:28 we read that “Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob.” Did the twins’ father favor and spoil Esau?
Pastor Warner’s sermon of March 1st placed heavy emphasis on disciplining our children. He referenced Deuteronomy 6:4-9, where God says we are to impress His commandments on our children and teach them in every situation of life.
Look for teachable moments to speak of God’s greatness. A simple trip into the dark desert to look at the stars is one suggestion.
Statistics show that children who eat dinner around the family table with their parents are far less likely to become hooked on drugs. Why?
I think it is because those children are having their parents impart their life and values to them on a consistent basis to the point where those values become their own.
Read the word of God with them regularly. Psalm 89:6-7 says: “For who in the heavens can be compared to the Lord? Who among the sons of the mighty can be likened to the Lord? God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be held in reverence by all those around Him.”
I can’t make my children believe, but faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Fill them with the word, and take every advantage of what the church offers to your children.
Set an example of reverence for God and His presence. Do you talk during prayer in the assembly? Or worse, do you get up and walk out during altar call, while God is calling sinners to repentance?
When you come in late, do you wait for the prayer or praise to be over before you are seated, or is it nothing to you to interrupt others who are worshiping God?
Are you on time for your doctor’s appointments or business meetings, but you can’t make it to church on time? Those actions are showing your children your priorities.
We live in a culture where our children are surrounded by unbelief and disrespect for authority. If we fail to teach our children to honor and respect us and other earthly authorities, how will they learn to honor and respect God?
Much of this is attained by consistent discipline. In this vein, I highly recommend John Bevere’s book, Under Cover and also his book, The Fear of the Lord. Another guide I highly recommend is What the Bible Says about Child Training by Richard Fugate. My point here is not to write on child discipline; however this is a critical ingredient in raising a godly child.
While I am emphasizing teaching your children to fear God, don’t forget to balance that with the love of God. Martin Luther compared Christians to drunken peasants who fell off one side or the other of the donkey, meaning that to complete our journey, we must maintain balance.
After we have done all we can do, we must remember to entrust our children to God in prayer. Lots of prayer! Philippians 2:13 reminds us “it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good pleasure.” You have a part to play, but only God can do the work in their hearts.
God loves our children more than we do. Seek Him for wisdom and direction in training your children, leading them to the water of life.
Then seek His mercy and His grace to move them into His perfect will for their lives (making them thirsty for Him so that they will drink deeply of that water).
Then trust your loving heavenly Father and rest in Him.