Godly Child Rearing Principles

In the sermon that interesting Scripture was read, what was John 4.34, they said, my will, my desire, my food is to do the will of the Father and to do His work. And I thought, that's interesting, because many of us, I've had many people come to me, I want to do the work, but how much of the work can I do? And if you've been around a while, some people in all days used to say, all you can do is pray and pray. You've probably heard that. All you can do is pray and pray. Brethren, there's a lot more that you and I can do besides praying and praying.

And as you know, doing the work, quite often we think doing the work is preaching the Gospel alone. And yes, that is part of doing the work. But doing God's work is what God's doing in us, creating sons and daughters of God to be in the kingdom of God. In other words, God is preparing a people to rule in all tomorrow. Because if the bride is not ready, if the people are not prepared, then Christ does not have a bride to rule with.

Because He's coming to rule with you and I, God willing, ready, prepared to rule with Him. So, yes, the question. How can you and I do the work? Sure, you can pray. Sure, you can pay. Yeah, fine. You can do a lot more. Some people say, oh well, but I'm not a menace. I can't go out and preach. Well, you can be a light. You can be a good example. And let me tell you, being a light, in many cases, under very stressful situations, might not be that easy. And again, a light, like a light yeah. If it makes a lot of noise, you can turn it off and replace it.

So, yeah, it's a big example about you and I being a light, but don't make noise that people just want to switch you off. So, that is part of doing the work. But there is a second equally important part of doing the work, which, believe it or not, is in fact part of our seal in the Church of God, in the United Church of God, which is preparing people. And our job of preparing a people is extremely important.

And each one of you and I, man and woman, has a responsibility in that, because it starts in one. As they say, in me, in me, myself and I, and then to our spouse, and then to our families and children, and beyond that, then to others. What do I mean by that? When it starts in me, it means I've got to train my spirit. In other words, I have to exercise self-control and develop my character to be like Christ, imitate Christ, to have a godly, holy, righteous character.

Secondly, and goes hand in hand with that, if my marriage or in our marriages, our relationships with our spouses are not right, how can we really grow effectively? Now, understand that in some cases there's nothing you can do in certain relationships, because it says be at peace with all men as far as possible.

And sometimes there are things that you and I cannot do. It takes two to tango. Right. But at least do your part, and we've got to do our part. So, our marriage, in other words, our commitment and love and support for the various roles of each one in a marriage relationship is very important. And thirdly, then it goes on to the next kind of layer, let's think about it, starting with myself, then with our marriage, then with our children and extended families. How do we educate, train our children, in other words, prepare them for adulthood, but more than preparing them for adulthood, how do we prepare them to be sons and daughters of God in the kingdom of God?

How do we prepare and lay them out so that they are in the right launch pad, let's put it that way, to develop godly, holy, righteous character? Granted, it still depends on them, but as young children, our children, we have a responsibility towards them.

And whether they are our children, or whether they are our grandchildren, or whatever it is, or relatives' children that we have an influence. Sometimes uncles and aunts have a big influence on nephews and nieces and things like that. So we do have a responsibility, yeah, to prepare a people.

Even if it's not just to prepare them for the world tomorrow, but who knows if it's not or not for the world tomorrow? God knows the hearts, he knows what, but even beyond. So depends when God is going to call them, but we have a job now to help them. And so, as we, for instance, have a child, and we carry this little baby now, arms, and we realize we got this big sense of responsibility to raise up a child of God. I think about that. Our children are children of God.

Therefore, we begot our children for God, because they are our issue. So, God has led them to us, quote-unquote, and foster care, for a certain number of years, maybe two decades, a little bit more, a little bit less. God has led them to us. How are we raising them up? How are we raising them up?

And what is the goal for child reading? What is the goal for child reading? Well, quite often, we just think, oh well, the goal for child reading is to have a billion children. Oh yes, that's a good goal, but is that all? The goal for child reading is to develop godly children with the character of God, holy, righteous, godly children, to be mature, well-adjusted adults. So, brethren, today I want to speak to you about basic principles of child reading so that our children are well prepared to develop the character of God.

Our long-term goal, brethren, is that they become the children of God in the kingdom of God, willingly, free willingly, living the way of love in their hearts. And therefore, we have a big responsibility right here to do the work of God.

There is no little job.

And it's not a thing to say, oh well, it's just a man that preached, I can't do anything. Well, not all men preach, for one, but also I think the role of educating a future son and daughter of God is a high, high responsibility that we all have, whether we man or woman. And a lot of that responsibility is actually on the one that God has entrusted them with their capability to do that, which is the woman. So the woman have a big job in doing the work of God. As you know, in Romans 5 verse 8, you don't have to turn there, Christ died for us while we were yet sinners. And in turn, we then learn and want to love God and Christ because of the grace that is shown to us.

That is the principle, number one, that I want to emphasize today about child reading. We have to love our children first.

And I'll call that unconditional love because that's how Christ loves us.

While we were yet sinners, He died for us. And so our job as parents is to look at that example and try to emulate it.

And indeed, it's a big responsibility of God's people at the time of the end. We thought about it. It's a big responsibility that God looks at it very seriously for us to do at the time of the end. Because you look at the time of the end and you see some of the young people coming out of schools today, they just have a real, let's just call it ungodly attitude. Not to put any additional labels on it. But look at Malachi chapter 4 right at the end of the Old Testament, right at the end in the last two verses.

As if kind of saying, yeah is a message, a closing message of the Old Testament. The Old Testament. And in verses 5 and 6, it says, Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. I will send you a work in the spirit and power of Elijah the prophet, which is our work.

It's a job you and I have to do before Christ comes. And our job in the church and as God's people is to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children. Note that does not say first the hearts of the children to the fathers. First says the fathers to the children. The responsibility to type the leadership role is of the parents to the children. Just like the responsibility of loving us while we were yet finished is from God towards us. Then the result of that is that we will then have a responsibility through that unconditional love, have the hearts of the children turn to their fathers. And if you and I don't do that, it says, I come and strike the earth with a curse.

So we want Christ to come and strike the earth with a blessing. And therefore, we have to prepare a people to be ready to bless the world tomorrow. We have to prepare our children so that our children are ready with the right spirit, with the right heart, with the right emotions, with the right feeling, with the right character, that they are godly offspring, that they can be used effectively in the world tomorrow as leaders. So young people, there's big, big, big, enormous opportunities for you. Because Christ around the corner, we don't know how many years, I can't tell you how many years, we don't know, but if you don't look at things around you, I tell you that it's not going to be much longer. It's not going to be much longer. And then you young people, you're going to have the job of your life to be leaders in a society that will be backed up by God and by Christ, and by your resurrected parents or transformal spiritual parents, and you will have the responsibility as the leaders in the world tomorrow. You'll be the leaders that talk to you, the teachers in schools, the teachers in whatever it is. You will be at that responsibility. So if you are 10, 12, 15, 18 years old, that is awaiting for you around the corner. There's hope.

There's hope. But your job and my job as parents today is to show unconditional love to our children. And remember, brethren, God has given us all the help we need to do our job. He gives us His Spirit, which is a spirit of power, a spirit of love, and a spirit of a sound mind.

And brethren, please, as we pray and as we are in the sermon, and we get the daily food that we need, and that bread of life, and hear God's Word, and we study the Word, and we ask for the daily bread, which is God's Holy Spirit, the spiritual daily bread, which is God's Holy Spirit, that Spirit will give you power.

Power. Not power to be bossy over other people, but power to overcome your and my frailtiness. Frailtiness. But we have to exercise it. We have to exercise it. It gives us the power, but we have to... It's like this. Yeah, you've got a hammer, or you have a spanner, or you have something, some tool, or a power drill, but you have to use it. You can't just sit there and leave it in the cupboard. You've got to use it. You've got to exercise it. So, God's Spirit gives us power, and a spirit of outgoing concern in love for other people, and of a sound mind. Of a sound mind. Please, brethren, today, what I call sound mind is like common sense. You know, the thing that is less common today is common sense. And today, people just don't have a sound mind today. But God's Spirit gives it to you. So, if you start it to hear of some people with some weird, wacky ideas, then get closer to God, and ask for more of God's Holy Spirit, because God's Holy Spirit will give you a sound mind to avoid those weird and wacky ideas. And also, it says, you know, how do we practice and get this love going? Look at 1 John 3 verse 16. 1 John 3 verse 16. By this we know love. How do we know really unconditional love? Because He laid down His life for us, and we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. How did God prove His love for us? He died for us. Actions. Unconditional love is actions. It's not cheap talk. It's actions. It's doing it.

So, it is so important, brethren, that we have the right actions. You put it to practice. So, the first principle, brethren, for us to have good child-rearing, to educate our children properly, to prepare them for the world tomorrow, is to love them unconditionally. Easy? No. Nobody says it's easy. Like, it was not easy for Christ to empty Himself, become a human being, and die on the cross. He even said, if it be possible, Father, let us pass. But the You're will not my will. It was not possible. So, unconditional love is not easy. But we have to do it, and we've got the example of Christ. Secondly, that comes with that, is a right family environment.

The marriage must be right. Right. Because that builds a warm, safe environment that sets the correct Godly example to our children.

Now, do we all have a perfect, clean marriage? No. Are we, therefore, then going to be hypocrites to our children? Says, well, that's what you're going to be. You're going to be perfect. When we are sincere with our children, and we say, look, that's what I'm trying to, and they can see you, Mom and Dad are trying, they're not going to label you hypocrites, because they see you trying.

And therefore, you show them mercy, and they show mercy back to you. And it's a growing, learning, warm, safe, growing environment, because there's not this critical attitude, but it's just this thing says, hey, we try, yes, I made a fault, but let me try and do better.

And then we teach them examples. The man, by his good example in the family, teaches the boys, the young man, to be man, to be masculine. And the woman, by a good example at home, teaches the young ladies, the young girls, to be feminine. That's part of our job, to prepare a people to the kingdom of God.

The husband has a role, to be the head of the household. Oh, he's the head! Well, turn with me to 1 Corinthians 11. Verse 3. 1 Corinthians 11. Verse 3. Today there is a thing that says, oh, man, we can't be the head, because, you know, yeah, yeah, and people start becoming what I would call a little bit weak in their leadership roles, not to put any labels to it again. But look at 1 Corinthians 11. Verse 3. He says, I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ.

The head of every man is Christ.

And the head of the woman is a man. And the head of Christ is God. Well, is there anything wrong with being the head? No.

How is Christ a head to you and I?

Is he authoritarian? Is he a dictator? Christ is our head. Is it real, no, no, no, it's not us! Is that? No. He's such a kind, loving being. So we as men need to learn from that.

On the other side, how is Christ towards the Father? How is Christ towards the Father? I will do my will! No, Christ said, my food is to the will of the Father.

So how does a woman treat the husband? My will is to do the will of my husband. Does that mean that they don't talk and communicate and discuss what is the best for the family? Yes.

Does it mean that the husband does not listen to the wife? No. Because why? Well, because look at an example. That Israelites did things wrong and God was ready through His representative, which was Christ, the rock that was with them, He was ready to wipe them out.

And you look at different examples. For instance, the example of Abraham and the case of Lot, or the example of Moses. They said, don't wipe them out. But let's talk about it. What about if it was 50? What if it was 40? What if it was 20? What if it was 10? It's the case of Lot, remember? Solomon Gomorrah. So in other words, the husband and wife can talk about it. And in the case of Moses, God said, okay, fine, I'll listen to you, Moses, and I want to wipe out Israel. So as the head, as a husband, there's nothing wrong in listening to the wife, but you talk one another and discuss it. But in the end, the final decision is the heads.

And then the wife supports it. So the husband, in a sense, represents Jesus Christ as the head in that family.

He's not a dictator. He's that sort of symbolism. And the wife represents the church which submits to Christ, totally backing up the husband. And so parents, husband and wife, they need to learn to be one. To be one. Just like the father and Jesus Christ are one. Are they two beings? Yes. But they're one. Oh, you know, I'm confused. They're one. Well, they don't need to be confused. A man lives his father and mother and marries his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. In Hebrew, the same word, echad, to be one. One flesh. Are they two beings? Husband and wife? Yeah, they're still two flesh, but they are one flesh. In other words, they are one in unity. They work together. They cooperate with one goal, one purpose, to develop this family, to build this home, to raise up the children with the same goals and the same purpose. They don't play one after another and one against another, nor are because they fighting. Are they encouraging the children to play dead against mom and mom against dad? Because the two are fighting. You see, it happens. If the two are fighting, the children are very clever. Soon they'll pick it up and they say, well, I'm going to manipulate mom by using, well, bad yah and vice versa. So, they united. They're one. While we looked at Menachi just now, let's look again at another scripture in Menachi, chapter 2, Menachi 2 verse 14 and 15. So, just a little bit before that section, we looked at it. But Menachi 2 verse 14 and 15, it says, Let's yet you say, for one reason, because the Lord has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth, with whom you've dealt treasureously, in other words, unfaithfully. And this world, men are unfaithful to women. It's a fact. Now, regrettably in this world, because that is kind of being exposed, some take advantage of it. Some women are taking advantage of it as well, not just defying that, but I'm just saying we have to drink one another with respect.

Men and women, and particularly the husband and wife, need to be loyal to the wife of his youth. Let's see what it says here. It says, Between you and the wife of your youth, with whom you've dealt treasureously, in other words, unfaithfully. Yet, she's your companion, and she's your wife by covenant, by agreement. At a marriage agreement, you might have an agreement, or death do a sport. Good or bad, that is it. God hates the worse. That is it. But did he, that is God, not make them one? Did God not make the husband and wife one? Yeah, they are one flesh. Didn't he make them one? Why did God make them one? One flesh. Yes, they're still two separate beings. I mean, if my wife cuts herself in an eye, it's not my hand, it's going to start bleeding. We're one flesh, you know. So, obviously, she's a different person than I am, but we ought to be one flesh. We ought to be united. So, why did God make them one? Did he not, verse 15, make them one? Having a remnant of the Spirit, and why one? Because he seeks God's lead offspring. Why did God make husband and wife one? Because God wants children of God, and He's giving you the responsibility, and He's entrusted you with His children.

Now, do you entrust your children to somebody else? Do you just go out and say, oh well, you can go and raise up my children for the next three years?

Well, God's done that to you, because your children, in reality, are His children.

So, how are we doing that job? And so, it's our responsibility to be one. And, Yareen, Yareen is the big point. For you and I to be one, as husband and wife, requires deep conversion. It requires deep conversion. And that's a whole different subject. But it requires you to be committed to one another, requires you to have loving respect for each other, respect for each other's responsibilities and roles in life and in a marriage. And requires you, I think I say, that commitment and then that respect and that love. It just requires that complete commitment to it. Now, once you are looking at yourself and by applying yourself, by having, imitating God, by having unconditional love for your children, once you are working with your families, the next step is to work with the children. And the very first thing you and I need to do to work with the children is to win their hearts. To win their hearts. It's not to win their obedience, it's to win their hearts. Oh yes, I'm not saying we don't want God to be obedient. But what I'm saying is even more important is the heart. And that's why we're reading Malachi. Turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and children to the fathers. It's the heart. We've got to win the heart. Obedience is not enough. Child training or child rearing is more than punishment for obedience.

It's encouragement, it's affection, it's listening, it's positive instruction, it's being approachable. Look at Proverbs 19 verse 18. Proverbs 19 verse 18. Proverbs 19 verse 18.

Proverbs 19 verse 18. Proverbs 19 verse 18. Chasing your son while there is hope and do not sit your heart on his distraction. Oh, chasing your son, so take out the weapon. No, no. First, not for his distraction, right? It says, do not sit your heart on his distraction. So the opposite of setting the heart on his distraction is setting the heart on loving him, on loving him. So the chastening must be based on love. You see, Yiza as a Hebrew, let's call it parallelism, there's two sentences the first sentence is chasing your son while there is hope and the second sentence is do not let your heart, do not sit your heart on his distraction. These two sentences complement one another is kind of the reverse of the coin. So think about it. So the second sentence put your heart on they succeeding and how do you put your heart on the succeeding? By giving them loving correction, like God gives us loving correction. Because as you read and we might have an opportunity to relate it, God chastens every son whom he loves. Right. And how does God chasten us?

In loving care and compassion and kindness. So yes, indeed there's correction, but it's loving correction. There's a long-term vision of unconditional love, of judgment and wisdom in applying that because God corrects us in love and God forgives.

He does not remember our sins forever. He covers them up as far as the east is from the west. Right. It's not that he suffers amnesia, he forgets, but he chooses not to remember them. He covers them up. That's why it says it's a covering. There's a covering, covers them up. So we never to beat our children. We ought to encourage therefore to speak once. Why? Because through loving correction you speak once and because you speak once you don't get angry. Because if you say it and then say it and then say it and then say it, what are you building up? You're building up tension and anger and then after a while you're going to explode and do it without really wanting to have done that. And so if you if you speak once and then give gentle loving correction, you don't need to nag, you don't need to threaten, you don't need to shout, you don't need to scream, because you're teaching the meaning of no. Once. Now the example could be, for instance, there's a young child crossing a street and you see a car coming by, he's gonna hit the child. If the child keeps going if he just say no and the child is obedient, he or she freezes because you said no. And the car goes by and does not kill your child because you or she learned the meaning of no once. But if he says well it's only when you say no five times and when your tone is elevated that you need to listen. No, no, no, no, no, I told you no and I'm not, that is the last time I'm telling you no. Oh okay, now I better listen. Now if the car is going by, you say no, no, no, well the car's already going by and killed the child. That's just obviously an example to bring the point across. But what we need to show our children is to speak once because when we speak once, we're not irate, we're not uncontrolled, we don't get angry, and we teach them from early.

As I say, eight is too late. In Portuguese there's a one that says the petit, can even start with the pinot. That means from small you bend the little petit. You start shaping that pepper while it's small. And it was eight is too late. In other words, you do it while they're young. Well, they're malleable and teachable. And so you teach them nicely at that point.

So where is it that you need to correct it for? Well, let me tell you when you're not correct. You're not correct when the child is sorry, when the child is disappointed, when the child is regretful, when the child is in hunger, you know, the stomach is empty, then when he's crying for something like that. Obviously, you're not going to correct for that. But you do correct when he's angry, when he's resentful, when he's rebellious, when there is hatred, that requires correction.

And obviously, we need to be consistent and we need to be predictable.

You see, human nature is inconsistent. So we need to learn to be consistent. If we are inconsistent with our children, we're going to confuse them. We're going to confuse them. We're going to get them mixed up. Also, don't compromise on principles. There's some principles don't compromise. There's certain guidelines, there's certain directions don't compromise.

Your child should know that you are true to your word. So if you make a promise, fulfill it. It's better not to make a promise than to make a promise and not fulfill it. Be careful. Oh well, tomorrow we're going to go to the zoo and then tomorrow comes and, ah, well, I don't feel like they would have not taken the zoo. Then a child learns that your word is not solid. It's not. Let your word be yes-by-yes. And also match the training with the age. You see, the training might be more specific when they're very young. When they reach a teenage, ah, there is a time that you are starting to learn to let go and let go and teach them to to make some decisions. Because you want to start letting go certain things that are safe and then monitor it and and bring that correction. But because those things that are safe, they're not going to cause big damage. And when they, therefore, when they get to an age where they got to college and things like that and you cannot be there every day, you have to rely that you've trained them correctly in those years that have gone by.

And young people, as you get that age, remember, and you go to college, it's easy to say, well, I've got liberty. I can do what I want. Well, you can't because you are a child of God.

And God is watching. And there are consequences. And regrettably, there are certain things that you might just do in the moment of being distracted. And those things, if it's something wrong that you do in just one moment, that maybe you drank a little bit too much and you do something in that moment, you have to carry it for your life. There are certain things that bring heavy penalty for your life. And you don't want that. You don't want that.

I personally, in my life, I can only give God thanks that I never did any of those things that have penalties for life. Not because of me, because God put his hand and woke me up before I did something wrong. And I thank God for that because he is our Father. And you, as parents, need to do that as well in a loving and gentle way. But Yahreeh is a point. Be careful, because if we don't listen to that little, still, small voice that breaks your and my conscience as you go to college or things like that, and then you do what you know you shouldn't do, but I'll just do it this time. It could, that one thing, could bring penalty for the rest of your life till you die. And could be diseases, could be whatever. So you don't want to get into that breath. So, as you're developing and growing, as you're growing and training your children, you've got to go through a process of learning to trust each other. Because you've trained them when they're small, and they're going through a process of learning to trust each other.

Sometimes we've got to say to our children, I don't want you to do that.

And it's not because I don't trust you, but because I don't trust the other people that are going with you. That's very important, because we need to be developing a trust on our children. But we don't know the other children. And therefore, we would tell our children, well, don't do that. Oh, mom and dad, you don't trust me. No, it's not a question I don't trust you. Don't trust the other people. And nowadays we've got self-help. It's easy in a way to say, look, communicate with me. If there's something back there, let me know. I always told my children, sometimes they went out and did things that I wasn't 100% happy about. But anyway, I said, whatever time, two o'clock in the morning, three o'clock in the morning, five o'clock in the morning, whatever time I'm always here, you can call me and I will be there. Unconditional love. Unconditional love. But please, young people, as you develop to that age where you can make your own decisions, don't make decisions that you're going to have to pay all your life for it.

So, we need to be teaching, as parents, responsibility. We need to be teaching to our children responsibility.

So, young people, God expects you to be responsible. There are a number of things that you can teach.

Besides that, you can teach cleanliness. You can teach the hope of the eternal, putting God always first.

Teach... there's so many principles you can teach. Teach them to develop their own interests. Teach them to face trials bravely. Teach them to face the world, because they're going to have to face the world. Others are going to teach them how to control alcohol. You need to teach them good work ethics. You need to teach them how to keep a promise.

For instance, can you teach them in specific jobs? Can your daughter cook? Can she sew? Little things like that. Teach them the proper use of sex, that it's only in marriage.

The world's teaching is wrong today, brethren.

There's so much you and I can teach. It's not easy.

And so, when they heart and teach and train them the right way, do the right teaching, do the right training with them.

And remember that you are teaching God's children. Look at Ezekiel 16, verse 20-21. Ezekiel 16, verse 20-21. Here is a prophet, and starting in verse 20, Ezekiel 16.

Now, this is God talking. He says, Moreover, you took your sons and your daughters, whom you bore to me. Now, God is saying, you took your sons and your daughters, who you bore, who you raised up for God. And these you sacrificed to them to be devoured. In other words, they did terrible things. They allowed them, the children, to get into trouble. Why? Because they didn't give them the right training, or because they did the wrong things, whatever it may be. Wear your acts of oratory a small matter, that you have slain my children. The point I want to emphasize, yeah, it's they are God's children.

This could be taken into various principles, like abortion, like whatever it is, you've slain my children. You have not educated them the right way, and therefore, because of that, they raised up, and they got themselves into trouble, and therefore died because of not being trained correctly, whatever it may be. You can take various things out of this principle. The point is, that I want to emphasize, yeah, is that we bore those children to God, and God says they are my children. Our children are God's children for a brief moment. For a brief moment, they are God's children.

So how do we raise them up? They are holy to God. You know, 1 Corinthians 7, 14, they are holy to God. So help the children with their goal, and what is their goal? To be sons and daughters of God.

So help the children with their goal. They are heading to the kingdom of God, such as us, it's our children. God wants a family. So, you've heard of the so-called self-fulfilling prophecy. Oh, you're nobody, therefore, you know, self-fulfilling prophecy, well, you end up being nobody. Well, the self-fulfilling prophecy, yeah, is you are God's children. You are destined to be the kingdom of God. God wants you there. And now that you have grown up and you are now taking the first steps in your life, God wants you there.

And you're not just letting your parents down, but you're letting God down if you don't do the right thing. You know, one of the things we told our children about winning their home, one of the things that it developed, winning their horse was the following. That when the children did something wrong, and I don't mean children, they were now teenagers and young adults. When they did something wrong, and at that age there's not much you can do physically speaking, you can't take a little snack or whatever it is, you know. What I could say to them is, you know, XYZ, child, you've really disappointed Mom and I. We are really hurt. You've disappointed us. We are really disappointed. And you know that really touched our children. They had more meaning than anything else. Why? Because they did not want to disappoint Mom and Dad. Why? Because they would want their hearts. You see? It's a heart connection. Relationship is all about the heart. Relation with God, relation with our wife, relation with our children, relation with other people. It's all a matter of the heart. And because the children don't want to disappoint us, they did the right thing. And therefore, when they went out to a party or something, they did something. They had in their mind, if I'm going to do that, I'm going to disappoint Mom and Dad. I better not do that. Right. What we need to add in our mind in the end is, I don't want to do that because I don't want to disappoint God. Because I want to please God. I want to not only obey God, but do what is pleasing Him, His heart. Remember, but in John it says, you know, you pray and I'll do everything to you because not only you keep my command, but you do what's pleasing in His sight. Because you don't want to disappoint Him. Because you've got that heart relationship. In a sense, that is what I call a self-fulfilling prophecy. Because you want to build that relationship. And so brethren, there are many principles I could have touched as far as child reading. And I just mentioned a few from the point of preparing a people that we have a work of God to do. Don't ever say, oh well, I'm just a housewife, I can't do the work of God. You can't! Because the job of raising a son or daughter of God is, in my mind, the highest, most important job that you could ever have. Don't denigrate yourself with such a high role that God's given you. And so keep in mind the need for us to have an absolute unconditional love. Therefore, for us to work on our marriages, to be united, to be warm, to be a safe environment for our children. For us to win their hearts, though, because the heart is critical. To teach and educate them the right things. There was more, others, they developed and grow from control to teaching and then letting them go in that process of learning. And remember that they are on loan to us just for a little while. Therefore, involve God in the character-building process of your children. Remember the goal is to develop balanced, happy, mature, well-adjusted, godly adults to be leaders in the world tomorrow.