Word For The Day: The Nature of a Child

This past weekend we held our first Parenting Seminar. It was encouraging to see how many of you participated. One of our sessions was titled: The Nature of a Child.

Listen to what Scripture describes as the default setting of our children:

Psalms 58:3
The wicked are estranged from the womb;
they go astray from birth, speaking lies.

Psalms 51:5
Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
and in sin did my mother conceive me.

A child is sinful.

Every child is born estranged from God. A child left to himself will only become good at sinning. They are born with a nature that leads them astray from the womb. We never have to teach children how to lie. They come by that naturally. We train them to speak the truth.

Proverbs 4:24
Put away from you crooked speech,
and put devious talk far from you.

Proverbs 4:27
Do not swerve to the right or to the left;
turn your foot away from evil.

In Scripture, a child is never assumed to be on his way to wisdom without a conscientious decision to depart from evil. Evil is the default position of every child. We don’t “grow out of sin” as we mature; we get better at it! A child is not on the way to wisdom without a conscious decision to fear the Lord.

The child’s desire for sin comes from his own heart.

Proverbs 4:23
Keep your heart with all vigilance,
for from it flow the issues of life.

Parents often make excuses for the sins of their children. God’s word is clear; the sin in our kids’ hearts does not come from the environment or the circumstances they face. Environment and circumstances only provide a place in which the sin can grow and reveal itself. The heart of the problem is a problem of the heart.

Here are some lessons that not only apply to raising children but apply to every Christian:

1. Don’t make excuses for your sin or the sin of your children.
2. The real problem is sin, don’t excuse it; deal with it.
3. Our children must learn at an early age that there are painful consequences to sin.
4. The problem of sin cannot be solved by education. God has provided the only solution for the sinner: salvation through Jesus Christ.

Let’s all determine by God’s grace to leave behind our own childish ways and grow up to maturity in Christ.

Have a blessed Monday, everybody!

Pastor Phil