Overcoming our Forgetfulness

Editor’s Note: This post is a reflection upon the message Mark Prater preached on Sunday, January 11th. The message can be found by clicking here

So many of the posts on Family Friday are written for one of two purposes. First, to encourage parents in the challenge of parenting. Second, to teach or help parents do their job more effectively.

Sometimes though, as parents, we have to protect ourselves from our successes. Many parents in our church have wonderful families. We have children that are generally obedient, majorly respectful and a joy to have in our home. We have sought to parent them to the best of our ability. We certainly have room to grow and areas in need of improvement, but we seek to apply what we’ve learned and teach them what they need to know.

In the light of such success stories, we can be prone to sit back and consider the behavior and condition of our children primarily as fruit of our parenting. Deuteronomy 6:5-9 says:

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 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.

We read that and can be prone to thinking…even quietly… “well done.”

We would all do well to keep reading. Beginning in the very next verse, we are reminded that the blessings we receive are given from God. The fruit of our labors is from God. Then comes the strong caution in verse 12:

…take care lest you forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

Here’s the truth of it…children who rebel are common. Obedient and respectful children are the exception. Why? Because people who rebel are common. Obedient and respectful people are an exception. And children are people.

So, how do we explain the preponderance of our successes? They are wells we did not dig…cities we did not build. They are direct gifts from the Lord, who will not allow his Word to return void.

Does God use our parenting to bring about these gifts? Yes, of course. Our intentional and prayerful parenting matters and is crucial…for our children and for us. However, we should never lose sight of who provides the growth…the blessing.

The very thing that could cause our forgetfulness also serves as the cure for our forgetfulness. When you catch your children obeying, or being respectful…when you hear from others that your children did something well…take care lest you forget the Lord. It is the Lord who provides the increase…and we as parents get front row seats.

Keep parenting…teaching your children diligently. But don’t forget the Lord. He is not just an ingredient necessary for good parenting. Through your faithfulness in parenting, He is the one providing the blessings.