A daily poll is a part of a website I enjoy visiting from time to time. A recent poll asked people where they eat supper. Forty percent said, “In front of the TV.” That led me to a question. Does the television distract family members from paying close attention to what other family members might be saying? The survey did not have a response for what a person was doing while eating the meal. How many appear disinterested in their families because of smart phones and tablets?
God directed that the family make a continual effort to teach and train children. Notice Moses’ words to the second generation of Israelites delivered from bondage in Egypt.
And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. (Deuteronomy 6:6-9 NKJV)
Parents should make every effort to learn what their children are doing and thinking. Seize upon questions, viewing them as teaching opportunities. “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear” (1 Peter 3:15). Abraham serves as a living example of that approach when going to carry out God’s command to sacrifice Isaac. “But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, ‘My father!’ And he said, ‘Here I am, my son.’ Then he said, ‘Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?’ And Abraham said, ‘My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering’” (Genesis 22:7-8).
God’s desire for children is that they be taught by their parents. Successful parenting must include continual teaching. Questions should be viewed as opportunities. Let us all pray God will bless our efforts to bring our children up in the way God would have them to go.
[Editor’s Note: Look around your own home. Glance at fellow diners in your favorite restaurant. Brother Hampton is right. Nearly everyone, young and old, is completely absorbed in his smartphone, tablet or television – to the extent that virtually no direct communication occurs between family members or diners at the same table. These days, moms and dads can hardly teach their children since they, too, are mesmerized with the same gadgets. Bible classes twice a week and additional youth activities or devotionals on occasion cannot substitute for daily parental interaction and teaching children by their mothers and fathers. It is little wonder that so many young people among us stray from the Lord’s church. ~ Louis Rushmore, Editor]
