More is Caught

I have many significant roles in my life. None more important than being a Dad to my three children. They are my pride and joy. As a father, my main passion is to point my children to Jesus Christ. I desire for my children to embrace Jesus: to know Him and to serve Him.

Our culture makes my role as a Dad difficult. The world is full of evil. My kids are bombarded daily with temptations that push them to the edge of compromise. The world has become more and more accepting of what was considered out of bounds 15 years ago. Television, movies and the internet promote an accepting of immorality, violence and evil that has taken what is sacred and made it common. As a Dad, I want to protect my children and their innocence. In protecting them, I want to empower them to navigate temptations, on their own, by knowing right from wrong. 

From the day they are born, our children begin to take small steps of freedom in moving out of our care as parents. Every day that we have with our children, we are preparing them for the ultimate freedom of living on their own, which in most cases happens when children go off to college. We must take advantage of our time with our children. 

When I was studying youth ministry, back in college, I learned a phrase that applies well to my mindset as a Dad. One of my professors shared: "More is caught than taught." My children are more likely to grab a principle or truth of God's word if they see me live it out, than they would if I presented some clever devotional lesson. I am not discouraging family devotions, because they are important. As a matter of fact, we have them as a family. However, if I lead a devotion on tithing and my children see my wife and I put our check into the offering plate, that speaks volumes to them on the importance of giving to God what belongs to Him. 

Our children watch us closely. They see how we respond when we're faced with difficult situations. They see how we spend our free time. They observe more than we realize. This puts a lot of pressure on us as parents. The reality is that we will reproduce who we are. In student ministry, I have been around a lot of troubled students through the years. In most cases, the ones who have the biggest problems in their lives are ones who do not have quality examples to follow in their parents. 

If more is caught than taught, then I want to be there for my children and I want to model Christ for them. I can't expect my children to learn enough at Sunday School, Children's church or Awana to suffice their spiritual growth. They need encouragement and inspiration from me. This requires me to spend quality time with each of my children. By quality time, I'm talking about having eye ball to eye ball conversations with them about what is significant in their life. This also means to allow them opportunity to be with me as I make important day to day decisions in striving to live for Jesus. Yes, sometimes this requires admitting my shortcomings.

God calls us to submit to His authority and to obey His truth. When we do this as parents, then we are able to call our children to obey our authority. By God's grace, we will point our children to Jesus as we live for Him.