You're Not Spiritual Enough

Job 1:5

"And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually."

Having godly parents is a great blessing for anyone. Certainly, when you look at Job's children, they could easily say that they had a godly dad. For God to give the commendation to Satan about Job is nothing short of amazing. God said there was no one like Job. God bragged about Job's spirituality. His children had no excuse not to be spiritual themselves.

However, one of the mistakes that Job made was thinking he could be spiritual for his children. It says in the verse above that Job sacrificed burnt offerings for his children just in case they sinned against God. Job felt that he could do for them what they should've done for themselves. Job needed to understand that as much as he loved his children, he could not pass his spirituality down to them like an inheritance.

Parent, you cannot be spiritual enough to pass your spirituality down to your children. Being spiritual is not a possession; it is an action. Far too many parents think their children are spiritual because they serve God. As much as I love my daughter, I cannot pass my spirituality down to her as an inheritance. I am only as spiritual as I am because I do what I'm supposed to do. If your children are going to be spiritual, then they must do spiritual things. Your children will not be spiritual because you are. They will be spiritual because they do right.

However, you can be spiritual enough to influence them in the ways of God. Though you cannot pass your spirituality down to them, you can influence them in the right ways to become what they are supposed to be. This is what you must understand about rearing your children. Your children are not going to become spiritual through osmosis, but you can make sure that all of their influences are spiritual so that they have a better chance of choosing to do spiritual things.

If you want your children to be spiritual, then be sure they're in a constant atmosphere of spirituality. In other words, make your home life a spiritual life. Don't leave your spirituality at church; instead live a spiritual life 24/7. Be sure your children attend spiritual activities. When the youth department at your church has activities, be sure they are involved in those activities so they can have an enjoyable time in a spiritual atmosphere.

Furthermore, be sure your children have spiritual friends. Friends will influence your children more than anything else. One of your responsibilities as a parent is to be sure your children have the right friends. They may not like you telling them not to spend time with a certain person, but it is your responsibility to be sure their friends are spiritual.

Finally, be sure you do spiritual things with them. Every night it would be good to have family devotions. Read the Scriptures and pray with your children on a daily basis. Be sure they have a personal time alone with God.

It would be a wonderful thing if we could put in our will that we are passing our spirituality down to our children, but we can't. So, the best thing you can do is to be sure they are around a spiritual atmosphere and that they do spiritual things. Ultimately, spirituality is their choice, but you can make sure their choice is influenced by spiritual things.