Teach Kids Truth

Well, God is calling children today, isn't he? But what a world He's calling them from. It's a world that's at war. Don't we live in a world that's at war with our families, with our children, and we're fighting a war that's not just a physical one. It's not a physical battle, really. The real war is a spiritual battle that's going on. It's a war that's raging around us that is just wiping out families. It's causing headache for so many consistently over and over again.

This war that we are in a battle against is a war on our children. And unfortunately, there are casualties. Casualties to integrity, casualties to honesty and respect. Those become casualties in the war that is destroying us. It's destroying our country. And so day after day after day, our children are bombarded with ideas and thoughts and images. Our kids today, they are faced with obstacles and challenges that you and I as adults could never hardly even imagine. And yet we read about, or we hear on the news, schools that are faced with the problems of drugs, alcohol, and so many challenges that we can't even assure the safety of our students when they go to school today.

What a world that we live in. And what are we going to do about it? What are we as God's people, as God's family, what are we going to do about the assault that is being waged on our kids? This is the challenge that God has called us into. Because we're not getting help from the society around us, are we? Not much. Maybe there's a glimmer here and there, but overall, our government, what has it done to God?

God and education to our government do not go hand in hand. Kids aren't going to learn God's way in school. Not at all. Our kids need direction. They're not getting it out there. They need direction. They need guidance. They're being taught humanistic philosophies. They're being taught ways that deny God and show that God isn't even a part of our curriculum. He doesn't belong in our studies. God has been denied in not only our school systems, but also society today.

They're taught that any religion is as good as another. In fact, no religion is the best. And that's the challenge that our kids face. Moral issues. Challenges that face true values and try to deny them. Try to deny God's true way. And so, a whole generation of kids are being raised that somehow they can be good without God.

How is that possible? When it comes to truth, they're told that there are no absolutes. There is really no one truthful way. Your truth? Well, that's as good as my truth. And everybody's own opinion is just as good as another.

Everything is kind of a shade of gray after all, isn't it? We should be tolerant of every lifestyle, any philosophy. We should be educated. And personal choice, then, becomes the thing that is above all. And your choice is good for you. And if that's good for you, I should honor that choice. And so, our kids face that world.

Whatever happened to personal responsibility? We take pride in popularity more than reliability. We take pride in freedom over obligation. And yet, where is God in all of this? For you and I, it has to be different. If we allow the world to teach that alternative lifestyles are acceptable, if we allow the world to say that adultery, fortication, that's no big deal.

Lying's okay! Well, maybe if you have a good reason, anyway. That's all right. If we allow society to take the lead in our family and raising our children, we have failed. We can't possibly claim to be the salt of the earth if we allow that to infect our families. That's not what God wants. So what do we do? What can we do to raise godly children? We have to teach kids the truth. We have to teach our children the truth. I wrote down in my notes TKT, teach kids truth. Because as you begin to think about it, how did we learn?

How did we learn as a child, all of the adults out here, even you older kids, how did you learn? As we were growing up, did it just come automatically? Did we just pick up a book one day and we just could read? Did we just learn it all by ourselves? It just came instinctively? Well, we know that didn't happen. It came by hearing, being taught over and over. We were understanding new things because people were modeling it right in front of our very eyes.

People we looked up to, our parents, our friends, grandma and grandpa, maybe even our minister, maybe even. That's how we began to learn. That primary influence, though, was the ultimate, mom and dad. Mom and dad. And that is a biblical thing, isn't it? When it comes to teaching kids truth, it has to start with mom and dad. Deuteronomy 6, verse 4 gives us that guidance straight from the Word of God. Deuteronomy chapter 6, verse 4 gives we parents instruction on how to teach kids truth.

Let's notice the instruction not only to ancient Israel, but to spiritual Israel as well, to us, to God's church, to God's families. If we're going to teach kids truth, He gives us the guidelines in order to do that. Deuteronomy 6, 4 says, Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. The instruction, verse 5 says, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. Parents, grandparents, verse 7 says, You shall teach them diligently to your children. You shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You should write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

A couple of things we can pick up from this little section of Scripture just by skimming through it really quickly. We can find something interesting. Does loving God come automatically? Does loving God come naturally? You see, Deuteronomy 6 says, no, it must be taught. It must be taught where? In our families. The family is the ideal place to teach God's love.

Some have said, you know, kids come into the world kind of like a blank CD. I think what I heard that the first time they said it was a cassette tape. Now we've got to update that a little bit. It's got to be a CD, or maybe it's just a flash drive, right? Now it's a flash drive. Kids are born like a little flash drive. Some are a little flashier than others, I guess. But, you know, they've said, you know, give me a child until he's seven years old and anybody can have him after that. Because that time of growth and learning is so vital. You know, the old saying is, as the twig is bent, so grows the tree.

And in a way, Deuteronomy 6 is saying that to us. It assumes, God is assuming that spiritual values, God's way of life, will be learned at home. We'll learn it in the family. By example, by our daily routine, by our life. And isn't it always amazing?

If you spend any time around little kids, can you believe how they can just pick things up? That you didn't even realize they were going to learn that? From their living environment, from their daily experiences. They mimic things. Good and bad, don't they? Good and bad. What they see, what they hear. Sometimes mommy and dad are a little embarrassed by what the kids say that they have seen and what they have heard. Maybe like that little boy, after church services, he went up to the pastor and he said, when I grow up, I'm going to give you lots of money.

And the pastor goes, this is pretty good. Alright, great.

He said, why do you want to give me lots of money when you grow up? And the little guy just looked the pastor square on the eye and he said, well, because my mommy and daddy said you're the poorest preacher we've ever had. So they pick things up, don't they? They do. They do. Or how about the little girl?

She's at home. Mommy's prepared this great big dinner after church and made the mistake of calling on the little girl to ask the blessing just before the meal. So this little six-year-old says, well, mommy, I don't know what to say. I'm just too little. And mommy, being the proud parent, said, well, just say what you've heard me say. And so she bowed her head and the little girl said, dear Lord, why on earth did I invite all these people here today? So you've got to be careful with that example because it is so vitally important.

How important is that? It is so critical. It is so critical to God's way of life. We teach as parents so often when we least expect it, when we least realize it, in the car, in our conversations, at the store. In our arguments, we teach our kids whether we realize it or not.

And that's what Proverbs 22.6 says. You don't need to turn there. Train up a child in the way that he should go. And when he's old, he will not depart from it. And so sometimes we don't even realize what we're teaching our children. What's right there? Those impressions as little kids last a lifetime, don't they?

I realized this a while back. We had moved to a place out in the country in Minnesota, and there was this beautiful maple tree that was out in the front yard. It had this really cool tree house. Fortunately, it was already there when we moved there, so I didn't build it. It was all set and everything. And it was really cool. And so the kids fixed it all up and they put drapes in the window.

And it was really a fantastic tree. Oh, big, old tree with this great big V where the branches jutted out, and that tree house was right there in the middle. Now, unfortunately, along the years, lightning hit that tree and split it straight apart right where that tree house was.

And the tree house crashed down to the ground. The whole works. And it was ruined. The tree was ruined. And so we had to cut it down. So we started cutting that tree. My son's father-in-law came away. He had a great big giant chainsaw. One of those really long ones with the long blades. He came over and started cutting on that thing. And as he's cutting through that, all of a sudden the chainsaw got totally bound up and hit the spot and totally stopped. And I thought, oh boy, this is a pretty tough tree. But Terry said, no, I think I ran into something.

And so he started cutting from the other side, finally got that tree down. And as we looked in the middle of this tree, there was a giant bolt and a brace that was partway around this tree. And we were looking at this thing. It was pretty amazing.

So we started counting the different rings and things to realize where in the world was this bolt. And so we counted back something like 37 years, where evidently that tree was having trouble back then with the two branches, and they bolted it together to give it some stability. And it lasted all those years. And I was amazed. And so do you think that something that happens early on can have an effect on the rest of the life of something?

I was reminded of that with that tree. I think it's true in the physical world. I think it's true in the spiritual world as well. Early impressions last a lifetime. And so God wants us to train our kids in the truth. We have to teach them truth. And if we're going to do that, we've got to start with the most simple things, the most basic things. Maybe sometimes the things we take for granted. What do you think would be the most important thing we must start with if we're going to teach kids truth?

We've got to put God first. God's got to be first. Priority number one. Number one, the most important thing has to be God in our families. If God is not first in our families, can we truly claim to teach our kids the truth?

It's true in the physical world as well. Last year we were watching the first Packer game. We're Packer fans group in Wisconsin. And something amazing happened in that very first game. He broke, well at least tied, the record for the longest kickoff return in history. Fellow brand new to the team, a rookie, Randall Cobb, took the kickoff eight yards deep in the end zone. And everybody expected him to put a knee on the ground and down that ball and take it out at the 20.

But he came out of the end zone and he started running. What do you think he was thinking about as he stepped out of that end zone? The other end zone. I don't want to get tackled. So he took off and he's running like crazy. He's dodging tackles and people are grabbing him and he comes right about to the middle of the field and somebody had him.

He was dead to rights. And somehow he does a flip over the guy and takes off and ends up scoring a touchdown. And I was reminded it's good to be a Packer fan. No, no, no, that wasn't the point. The point was he had one goal in mind.

That was it, to score. He wanted to get across the goal line. Here was the youngest player in the NFL. The only player at that time last year to start an NFL game being born in the 90s. He was the very first player born in the 90s to start in the NFL. Pretty amazing. What do you think he had on his mind? To win! He wanted to win. He had to get across the goal. And that's got to be our purpose. We have to have our goal in mind. It's our goal in view.

Our goal is God's kingdom. And we have to live by that way. And this world is going to try to tackle us and put us down on the ground. And we've got to continue to run God's way all the distance. And that's the story of anyone who truly wants to be a success. They've got to put whatever that is, whether it's football, whether it's flying an airplane. What do you think Charles Lindbergh was thinking when he was flying over the Atlantic? He had one purpose in mind. Maybe you like basketball. How about Larry Bird or Michael Jordan? Okay, I'm dating myself.

But all they do is eat, drink, think basketball. That's what they have for their purpose. Inventors, same thing. Thomas Edison. The story goes that he hardly slept, could hardly eat anything. He spent so many hours in his laboratory perfecting the hundreds of inventions that he had. Of course, the list could go on and on and on. But it comes down to the fact that if you're going to be successful, you've got to put whatever that thing is first in your life.

So if we are going to be successful Christians, God has to be first. If we're going to be successful parents and grandparents, God's got to come first. The boy in this world wants to take that away from us. It wants us to put everything in a nice little box, doesn't it? It wants us to take our religion and put it right in this little box. Just contain it right there. So that, well, yeah, on the Sabbath, that's that one day in seven, you're a Christian. And so we put it in the Sabbath box.

And of course, over here we probably have the parent box. It's like the room's in a house. We've got our Sabbath room. Of course, I'm a mom or a dad, and we've got our mom and dad room, our box that we can put our life into, or a husband and wife compartment.

Or this area over here in the house, that's my job. And the world seems to force us to do that sort of thing. But there's a problem if we begin to think like that. Is it possible to put our relationship with God the Father and Jesus Christ? Can we just say, that's just another room in my life?

See, we can't do that. We can't do that and claim we're basing our life on Deuteronomy 6. That's not compatible. It doesn't go together. God does not want to be just another room in our life. If God is first in our life, He's got to be the entire building, doesn't He? God has to be the entire building. So all of our responsibilities, all of our relationships are based on Him. And they fit into that overall relationship that we have with God. So God's just not looking for a nice position in our life.

He is looking for our entire life. God has to be our life. So moms and dads, what room have we given to God? What place does He hold? Does He have first place or just a place? What position is God in? Deuteronomy 6.5, it says, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength. It's not leaving out anything, is it?

He's talking about the frontlets in our eyes. Right, God's got to be right here in our brain. And He's got to be on our hands, in our actions. God's way has to be constantly obvious throughout our life. That's what 1 John 2.6 says.

Just write that one down. We know it says, We're to walk as Christ walked, or live as He lived. That's daily, minute by minute, moment by moment, selfless service to God. And that flows from Him being first priority in everything. So to teach kids truth, God's got to be first.

Now, as a family, if we're going to teach kids truth, we've got to be together.

You don't split up the family. The family has to be together. So families spend time together, a lot of time together. And this is so important. Why would this be important?

Well, because Deuteronomy 6 tells us, spiritual values have to be modeled. There is such a vital importance in example. What did Christ emphasize? What did He teach?

Did He say, well, don't imitate my behavior, but listen to my instructions.

Or the way some people say it, do as I say, not as I do. Is that what Christ taught?

No. Over and over and over again, Christ said, follow me. Follow me. So what was He pointing to?

He was pointing to His example, to His way of life. They could look and watch and see what the Savior did. And they were, as disciples, then to model what He did. No wonder John said, walk as He walked. Live your life as Christ did. Imitate me, Paul said, as I follow Christ, as I imitate Christ. And so that's a challenge. That is a struggle for us today, because our world has gotten so disjointed. You know, our jobs keep us away from the family. It removes us out of the house. And so what do we do? Well, sometimes we try to justify that. We say, well, I can't spend that much time with my family, but when I do, it's quality time.

And so we have a tendency to fall into the fallacy that quality time is good enough.

But what happens when we're not there? If we're not there, how can we fulfill Deuteronomy 6? When we're walking by the way, when we're talking, when we're lying down, when we're getting up. That's implicating, we've got to be together. We've got to spend time together. How do you know when you're going to have that teachable moment, that opportunity when the question arises, when an example is most evident? If you're not there, we're not there. We're going to miss that opportunity. And so if we're at a distance, we limit the impact of Deuteronomy 6.

I don't know if any of you are bowlers, but I have figured out a way to score a 300 every single time. Any bowlers out there? 300. That is a perfect game. Perfect game.

And I know you all know I've got the inside scoop on this, right? How do you do it? Well, first, you get the perfect ball. You get the exact right ball, perfect for your hand. And then you approach the pins. And you keep walking down the alley. And you get closer and closer to you, about that far away from that first pin. And then you throw that ball right at it, and they all fall down. Now, the bowling alleys don't like you to do that. But I think there's an important concept with that. All right, it's stupid. But they won't let you walk down. But the point is, the farther away you are, the harder the game is. Isn't that true in our families? The farther removed you are from your family, the harder it is to get those pins down, to teach the lesson, to have that perfect game. How are you going to teach spiritual lessons if you are so far removed from your family that you don't have the impact that you should? See, there's quite a difference between one foot and 60 feet, all the way back at the end of that alley. And so, look at Deuteronomy 6, verse 17, talks about this distance. It says, "...you shall diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God, his testimony, his statutes, which he's commanded you." You see, we've already heard we're going to be doing all this when we're lying down and standing up and on the way. And all the time throughout the day, verse 18, "...do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord, that it may be well with you, and that you may go in and possess the good land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to cast out your enemies from before you as the Lord's spoken." Boy, and that takes on new significance today with all the enemies, the spiritual wickedness that we face in the world today. It, in a sense, is a greater enemy than the physical opponents that ancient Israel faced.

So, verse 20, it says, "...when your son asks you in the time to come, saying, what is the meaning of the testimonies, the statutes, the judgments, but the Lord our God has commanded you." We have to be there when those opportunities arise to teach our kids the truth. Now, I'm not saying all this to lay a big guilt trip on everybody, but I think it's something that we have to reflect on a little bit, really to realize what is most important. You know, in a way, you read these passages in Deuteronomy 6, and I think, isn't this what puts a capital M on mom? It's living that example. Isn't that what sets you apart from other women? Living this way of life? Having a kid that really is interested in God's way, that loves God's way, after all, you know, after God is first and our mate, who comes next in our life? It's our kids!

So, no matter what else is going on, kids are so important to us. And it's that kind of an approach, a selfless approach. That's the kind of life that really puts the daddy in father. Unselfishness puts mom in mother. And that's something this world doesn't know anything about. Selflessness, not seen very many times out there in the world, means putting your kids first before family, other family, extended family. Putting them first before your friends. Putting them first before your co-workers. Before all of those things.

So that we're spending time together.

Now, we mentioned a little bit about Deuteronomy 6 and the encouragement that it's giving us about modeling the spiritual. Let's think about that for a moment. Because if we're going to do these things, it often means we've got to adjust what we think is spiritual. Don't we? Think about that for a second. If we're going to model what's spiritual, model the spiritual. Think about what is a spiritual home. What is a godly home? Well, maybe what comes to mind, we've got the family together. It's Friday evening. The television is off. Bibles are open. We're having a family Bible study. That's a wonderful thing. That is a spiritual thing to do. That's something we should do in our families. We can spend that extra time together in the Word of God. No doubt, that's a spiritual activity. It's easy to identify that one. But you know Deuteronomy also points to another basic way to make our homes spiritual homes. How do we do it? Well, think about it for a minute. What do you think would be the greatest stumbling block, spiritually speaking, for our kids? What would be the greatest spiritual stumbling block for our kids? You might think, well, school, or the neighborhood, or the kid down the street, or the drugs that are being certainly those things can come to mind. But I think the greatest stumbling block for our kids can be their parents. It can be the parent. It can be us. When we don't live the truth, is that obvious to our kids? They notice those things. Children know the difference. And what was it like in your home as we get ready to come to church? Is it duty?

Is it delight? What role does that take? You know, in a sense, as parents, we have an obligation to fulfill that most important job that God has given us, to help them to know God and to love God, to honor Him, to worship Him, to praise Him—all of those things. And you know, as parents, we can't pass on something that we don't possess ourselves.

We don't model it ourselves. We're not going to be able to pass it on.

I ran across something that was kind of funny, but then after I thought about it, it was kind of sad. It was at an event's office, and a little sign that just said, people spend more time training their dogs than their children. And I kind of laughed at it.

Because that, in some cases, is true. That can't be true of us as God's people, can't it? And I don't think it is, on the whole. Not at all. We cannot allow—we can't even allow that to creep in to our families. And, of course, life doesn't provide any guarantees. We know that. They have their own choices as they grow up, no doubt. But certainly, we want to be the ones to give them the best possible start, don't we? Absolutely. There was an author back in the early 20th century, James Baldwin was his name. He said, children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they've never failed to imitate them. That's pretty powerful, isn't it? Pretty powerful. Because kids will imitate us. Just like the little boy went to school, the teacher was testing them on their numbers. Kids were supposed to be learning their ABCs and 123s, and they came to the one little boy. The teacher said, well, you know your number? Oh, yes, my daddy taught me the numbers. He was just a very proud little guy. And so the teacher said, okay, great. Well, what number comes after three? And that little five-year-old said, four. He said, wow, that is very good. Okay, let's try another one. What comes after six? Of course, the little boy was very proud. Seven.

He said, yes, that is right. That is excellent. He said, okay, now here's one. What comes after ten? That little boy without just even thinking. He said, that is so easy! He said, a jack. Kids will imitate us, won't they? They will imitate us. And so if we defer, if we abdicate that responsibility, if we give that responsibility to somebody else, what will happen to our kids? Even in the church. The church provides so many blessings to our children. They really do. We saw evidence of that today. We have our Sabbath school lessons. What a wonderful blessing to be able to have such dedicated teachers and instructors that help in teaching our kids. We have wonderful pre-teen camps and teen camps that help cement our kids to the truth. We have socials. We have so many activities. And yet, we don't want to be fooled into thinking that that's all our kids need. Because these things, they're supplements.

They're not replacements for our homes. They're supplements. They're going to help, but they cannot replace what our kids learn at home. And so if our kids learn them at home, they see what we do. And they see us honoring and serving and loving with gladness. When they see us do things thankfully and calmly, being self-controlled, what are they going to imitate?

If we teach our children by our moral example, will they imitate that? If we teach our children by our example values, because they see values played out in our lives, we can teach our children faith because we are faithful as parents and grandparents. We teach love because we love God.

So we're going to raise them right. We train them up in the way that they should go.

And we do it by God's way, by His teaching. He's taught us. And so we've got to teach kids the truth. And part of what Deuteronomy 6 reflects on is the fact that the family is centered where?

If you had to place the target, the center of the family, where would it be? I think it's an important concept to think of as we think about teaching kids the truth. And as you look through Deuteronomy 6, you look throughout the whole Bible. I believe that we're to be parent-centered families. Parent-centered families. You turn back just a little bit to Deuteronomy 5.16. Here's the commandment. Sometimes it's the forgotten commandment. It's what's reflected back in Exodus 20, verse 12 as well. It says, "'Honor your father and your mother.'" In Exodus 12, it talks about that your days may be long on the land. Here in Deuteronomy 5.16, it says, "'As the Lord your God has commanded you, that your days may be long, and it may be well with you in the land which the Lord God is giving you. Honor your father and mother.'" So kids are to honor parents. Who's in charge? The parents. The God-ordained family has parents in charge. And so he tells the kids, we're to honor our father and mother. But here we live in this world that we are so quick to try to climb up the ladder that we've allowed our families to disintegrate.

And society out here has such a difficult time even figuring out what a family is. Society can't describe it. Can it define what a family is? It can't anymore.

There's a couple of moms or a couple of dads or who exactly is it anyway? And so we have a difficult time with that. And so we can't allow that to impact our families. I mean, I still think back a number of years ago when there was a couple of teenage boys, they built, I remember something like 70 bombs, sawed off shotguns. They maintained this whole arsenal big enough to outfit half of the Marine Corps. They marched into their high school and started shooting. And their parents were on TV saying, I never knew. I never knew that. Well, how? How is that possible? You see, we can't allow that to impact us as God's families and as kids. We kids have to hold mom and dad in honor, God says. So if we walk through the Sabbath school line today, we could take this to heart that God tells us as kids that we're to honor mom and dad. And honor means we love them. We care about them. We try to do what they tell us to do. We love them. We're kind to them. We care about them. All of those things are reflected in this idea of honoring mom and dad. So kids, do you love your mom and dad? Do you really appreciate what they do?

It's a good thing to tell them that once in a while. Sometimes it's hard to do. But God's given you that responsibility that you're supposed to value them. Mom and dad are supposed to be precious to you. You're supposed to love them and really care so much for them. Think of all the things that they do for you. And of course, as moms and dads, we're supposed to respect them.

We're supposed to love them and care about them because, oh, in a way, we're God, in a sense, to them, aren't we? We're representatives of God the Father and Jesus Christ to our kids. We represent God's authority in our families. And so, as parents, we train them and we direct them and we guide them to follow God with all their hearts, just like we're striving to do. We're called to be a reflection of Jesus Christ Himself. And so we're teaching them as kids to be more like Jesus because we're striving to be more like Jesus. And so, parents, it's time for us to be parents. It's time to accept the responsibility of parenting.

That means we expect obedience from our kids. It's expected. Part of honoring mom and dad is expecting obedience. It's not asking for it. It's requiring it. It's not a suggestion, is it?

It's a commandment. It's a commandment to honor mom and dad. And boy, you look out in the world today. I was reminded of that just the other day. We were at a restaurant and there was a mom and dad with a little two-year-old sitting in the booth not too far away. And I don't know how long it went on, but it went on for a long time. It was like, well, what would you like to eat? Would you like this or would you like this? And here's this little two-year-old that couldn't read the menu.

And they were doting over this little one, asking them what they wanted. Who's the parents here? Who's the center of the family? If you think of that target of the family, it's got to be the parents at the heart and the core of the family. Do the kids rule us or do we guide and love and direct them? You see, God says, we're the center of the family. Parents are the center. Now, why would that be? Is that because we're supposed to lord it over them? You know, we're supposed to demand that they follow every whim. Is that what it's about? Or is there a greater purpose, a greater lesson in that? I think there's something more. You may remember this section in Isaiah 3. It's a pretty stark example. Isaiah 3, verse 10, hear the prophet Isaiah speaking to God's people, warning them of the difficulties and the challenges to come if they do not honor God, that captivity was looming. By extension, it's a prophecy for us as well, I believe, that holds us accountable to God's way. Isaiah 3, verse 10, it says, Okay, there's a connection between how well it goes and what we do, how much we love God and how much we're actually living by His ways. Verse 11, Verse 12, We can take this section in so many ways. Is there a confidence in rulership today in America? No, our leaders cause us to err. We follow them, their thinking, their morality, their ways. We will be so far removed from God, it's not even silly. It's ridiculous. And so we cannot be taken in by that. And God says there is a God-ordained structure to the family, and children are not to be in charge. Here it says, children, this word actually in the Hebrew means little kids, little ones. They're the ones that can harass us and tyrannize us and cause us distress. That's what He's referring to there. And so sometimes out there in the world, parents get this idea they've got to be their kid's best friend.

Later, yeah, you want to be friends with your grown kids, no doubt. Best friends. But the little ones, they need a parent. They don't need a friend. They need a guide. They need someone who loves them. Because if we're a parent-centered family, kids begin to learn what it means to love and support one another. They learn what it means. There are rewards that come when you sacrifice self. They begin to understand that there is joy in sharing. That life isn't all about me.

There's a family. There's a structure that brings us all together. So we all benefit. We all feel love and respect. So there are lessons to learn. And as parents, there are lessons to teach our kids. We don't want them to grow up thinking the world revolves around them. We don't want them to think that they are the be-all and end-all of everything. That everyone should be sacrificing everything for them. Wouldn't it be better to raise a child who becomes an adult who understands how to serve? Not just how to serve, but how to be a servant like Jesus Christ? Wouldn't it be better to raise a child who knows how to sacrifice for his husband or for her husband or for his wife? How to support the family of the kids? How to be a part of the body? Because when you think about it, isn't the kingdom of God a parent-centered family? God's family is God-centered, isn't it? God's given us the family as a representation of what God's plan is all about. And God is at the heart of it all. Ephesians 3, verse 14. Ephesians 3, verse 14, zeroes in on the fact that the spiritual family is a parent-centered family. Let's notice Ephesians 3, verse 14. Here the apostle Paul is writing to God's church in Ephesus, writing to us by extension. He says, For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named. God the Father is the head of the family, the spiritual family. We are named after Him. He is in charge of the spiritual family. Does He provide for His family? Absolutely. Look at verse 16. He says, that He would grant you, Paul says, according to the riches of my glory, of the kids' glory, of the little children's glory, of everything that they deserve and have earned, not by a long shot.

He says here that He would grant you according to the riches of His glory, the Father's glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, because the spiritual family is Father-centered. That's where the family begins. And the Father is going to grant to us glory and honor, to be a part of His family forever. That's God's purpose. So, no wonder Satan attacks the family. He doesn't want us to be able to define a family. He doesn't want us to have a spiritual family. He wants to destroy the family because ultimately it destroys the plan of God. And so our families have to be different than those that are out there in the world.

We have to have a spiritual, Father-centered family. 1 John 1, right at the very beginning, focuses on this concept of teaching our kids truth by having the right center for our families.

1 John 1, right at the very beginning, 1-1. As John starts this letter, he begins by saying, "...that which was from the beginning, that which we've heard, which we've seen with our eyes, which we've looked upon, and our hands have handled concerning the word of life." So, talking about Jesus Christ, that life, he says, was manifested. And we've seen and bear witness and declare to you that eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us.

So we have this beginning of the family. The Father and Jesus Christ, the Father sends Jesus Christ to earth and was manifested to us. Verse 3, "...that which we've seen and heard, we declare to you, that you may also have fellowship with us, and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ." There's the basis. There's the center. There's the rock of the family. If we're to be a spiritual family in truth and love, God the Father and Jesus Christ have to be at the heart of that family. And if we fast forward all the way to the end of the book, it's no different when you get to the Revelation. After this kingdom is established by Jesus Christ, ultimately the New Jerusalem will come down and the Father will dwell with us. And He'll still be the head of the family. Because it says there, Revelation 22.3, "...the throne of God and the Lamb will be there, and His servants shall serve Him." We will serve God in the family of God forever.

And so even for eternity, the center of the family is still the parents. God, our Father, will be at the head of that spiritual family. And so what a blessing for us that when we really take to heart what that commandment is all about, we honor our parents. We respect the family because there's so much more than just a physical thing that's going on here. It's a spiritual concept that God really wants us to understand. That brings us to another aspect of teaching our kids truth. Deuteronomy 6 makes it so evident that part of the basis for that instruction has to be out of love. Because that Father, the center of our family, is defined as love. His character is love. Remember what Christ said when they asked Him what's the most important commandment?

He said it was love. Love God and love your neighbor. Those two things. Love one another.

And of course, what's happened in society? That's been decimated. There's no love. There's no respect. There's not much out there today. And so we've traveled so far down that me highway that we've lost it. We've lost that love that we're to have for one another. In fact, that's supposed to be the identifying principle. If you think about it, what would be that word that describes your family?

If you ever thought about it in that way, if we had to think about the word that describes God, probably the word you most often think of would be love. God is love.

All right, if we turn that around a little bit, my family, described in one word, is… What is it? You see, if we're emulating God, if we're teaching our kids truth, that's our goal.

Our goal is love. And of course, all the things that come with it. We know how love is demonstrated. Love comes through faith and belief and doing. The Bible is very clear in this. It's not just having a nice feeling. There's action involved in love. That's why Christ said, you've got to love God. You've got to love your neighbor. And so, He made it very clear that if we're His disciples, we are showing that we love one another. It is evident in the things, not just that we say, but the things that we do. John 13.35 tells us that. If we truly are His, then we're showing that love. They'll know we're a part of the God family by love. So, do our families then have that kind of an atmosphere? Would that be the descriptive adjective that describes who our family is, what we're about, how we act, how we treat one another?

That's the goal. That's what we need to have in our families. Colossians 2.2 points to that fact that that's got to be that descriptive adjective that labels our families. Colossians 2.2.2.

Here, as the apostle Paul writes to those in Colossae, they were having some challenges. There were difficulties. There were those out there that were fighting against them. They were working against the poles and the draws of the world and society around them. They were being infiltrated by false teachers, trying to railroad them to a different way of life. And so Paul writes to them about that. And in chapter 2, verse 2, he says, I want you to know what great conflict I have for you and those in Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh. So he was concerned about them. And so he encourages them. Verse 2, that in your hearts, or that your hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ, in whom are hidden all treasures of wisdom and knowledge. And so here in this little nutshell of just a couple of verses, it tells us how can we have encouragement in our families? How can we have security in our families? How can we be sure that our families are molded and knit together in a way that will never be able to be pulled apart? See, Paul gives the materials that will bind us together. He says, love will do that. When we love and have that kind of a godly love, that's going to fulfill us as God's people, as His family. We'll have the riches, the spiritual riches that we need. We'll have the assurance. We'll have the confidence. We'll have the security knowing what's most important in life.

Having a family that loves us and cares for us, contributing as a part of that family and ultimately to the family of God itself. And so we can gain that deeper understanding. We can have what it says here in verse 3, a treasure. And for us, it won't be a hidden treasure. For us and our families, as we put these things into practice, he says to the world, yeah, it's hidden. They don't understand this, but to us, we can have godly wisdom. We can bask in that security and godly knowledge and understanding. And so through these things, through the basis of Deuteronomy chapter 6, God has given us so much insight into how to teach kids truth.

So let's strive to take it to the next level. I think we've been doing a good job, but we can do better. We can do better. We have to do better because our kids are going to learn.

They're going to learn every day, every hour, every minute by the things that we do and the things that we say. So let's be sure we're putting God in his proper position. Priority number one.

And let's spend the time together with our families so that it's obvious that we are modeling the kind of spirituality that shows who is in charge of our lives, that God is in charge. God is at the heart and soul of who we are all about, that we are centering our life on him. Because he loved us, we're going to demonstrate that kind of love in our families. And as we do that, we can't help but teach kids truth.