The most important reason children need to obey.

I am a mom.

I, like so many moms, strive to raise good kids.

All moms instruct, correct, teach and pay attention. But why?

So our kids turn out? That is partly my reason. I want my children to grow up to be contributing members of society and make the world a better place. Training up such a child means training them up to obey in all kinds of areas like manners, discipline, education and appropriate behavior.

In addition to being a mom, however, I am also a Christ follower.

This means I also want my kids to be contributing members of the Kingdom of God by making heaven a more populated place and placing their faith on a stand for all to see so people see their good works and glorify their father who is in heaven (Matthew 5:15-16). I want them to love the Lord their God with all of their heart, soul, mind and strength, and love their neighbors as themselves (Matthew 22:37-39).

This, then, becomes the more important reason to teach children to obey.

So they will obey God.

When asked to do something, my son will often say, “In a sec,” or “After I finish this game, please,” or “May I do that after dinner instead, mom?” In those moments, I have to make a decision to find that glorious line I just blogged about last week.

In each instance, I have to listen to the Lord. Do I extend grace and let him have a say in matters? Or, is my son to obey me right now, doing just as I said – period – no hesitation allowed?

Because…

by learning to obey me, my son is learning to obey God.

What if, when God asks him to do something, my son responds: “Not right now,” or “After I finish talking to this person first,” or “I obey you in that area starting tomorrow, God.” If my son responds to God like that, his life will be a big stinkin’ mess. I know this because I too lived my life like that for a season – casually responding to God’s commands or just plain ignoring them for the day – and I made a big mess of my life.

So moms, don’t give up. Learning to obey you helps children learn to obey God.

There is more at stake than success in this world. That’s hard enough. Their greater success is in their eternal world. That is worth fighting even harder for!

Picture Explanation: These are my people, the people God has asked me to raise. Feel free to say a prayer that my children grow up to love the Lord with all their heart, soul, mind and strength and to love their neighbor as themselves.

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