Building Men and Women of God (6)

Mar 5, 2020

‘These commandments… Impress them on your children.’Deuteronomy 6:6–7 NIV

Teach your children the value of hard work. Navigators’ president, Lorne Sanny, would smile as he remembered four words from his father that changed his life, ‘Son, get with it!’ Parents who think that they are doing their kids a favour by letting them avoid hard work are deluded (wrong). Your children will become irresponsible, dependent, under-developed and end up resenting your over-indulgence. ‘Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth. He who gathers crops in summer is a wise son, but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son.’ (Proverbs 10:4–5 NIV)

If you keep doing for your children what they should do for themselves, you’re crippling their development and creativity. Honest work is God’s provision for human happiness, as well as for personal, social and spiritual growth. This is more than a financial issue; it’s a spiritual issue. Hard work is good for you! ‘The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the soul of the diligent is made fat.’ (Proverbs 13:4 NAS) One day your child will thank you for requiring them to participate in family life and do their fair share. Their future husband or wife will thank you too! You say, ‘But they’re so young and they’ve school work to do.’ If they master the three Rs, but fail to become responsible and mature they’ll pay for it in the future. ‘It is good for a man that he should bear the yoke (of responsibility and work) in his youth.’ (Lamentations 3:27 NAS) What they learn in youth they’ll enjoy for the rest of their lives, as they become men and women of God!

SoulFood: Gen 28:1–30:24, Matt 20:29–34, Ps 136:1–12, Pro 6:30–31
The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright ©