Maranatha Messenger

WHAT TO DO
WHEN YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO

Are Your Children a Priority?
(Part 5)


Introduction

I understand that you have a job. But is your occupation more important than your children? I hear what you’re saying about your career. I know you have bills to pay. Maintaining three cars, insurance, and purchasing fuel is enough to bankrupt anybody! I understand! But in reality do we really need all of these things? Mom and dad work 50 to 60 hours a week to furnish their children with “things.” How much do tennis shoes cost? How much are a pair of jeans? Do our children really need an Ipod to download three thousands songs just because all the kids at school have one. Is an Xbox really a necessity? Do they really need all those cool electronic gadgets that all the other kids have?

I. Perhaps the greatest gift you can give to your child is yourself? What about the gift of time? What about devotion and attention? Nothing says, “You are valuable to me” like time. Quality time is an indicator of significance. Whatever you treasure will determine the time invested! If you cherish your child, you will contribute the necessary time. Paul Harvey illustrates this principle. Harvey said,

Pastor Robert Schuller of Garden Grove, California, visited 14 cities in one week to promote one of his books. This in addition to other responsibilities which had to travel with him. Then his office advised that when he got home he was scheduled for a luncheon with the winner of a charity raffle. Raffle tickets had been auctioned off for a “lunch with Robert Schuller.” He hurried home, prepared to squeeze the luncheon into his crowded schedule, then learned that one person had bid $500 to have lunch with him. Dr. Schuller was suddenly sobered. He happened to know that $500 represented that individual’s entire savings. And the girl willing to bid her entire savings to have lunch with him was his own school-age daughter.[1]

I don’t think we should come down too hard on Reverend Schuller. You and I do the same thing. The only difference is Schuller’s a national figure and we’re not. Thank God for the corrections that come into our lives to cause us to refocus our priorities.

II. Paul exhorted fathers, “provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4). The word parorgizo {provoke} means to stir up anger to the point of exasperation. The lack of attention will certainly frustrate your child! Ever saw a kid with a chip on his shoulder? That child is searching for parental attention! Our youth are starving for attention while we work overtime to provide them material things they don’t really need. Mom, dad, your children need you! They need your time, attention and love. Only you can supply the security your child needs in their search for significance.

III. The godly parent will ensure that his children are a priority. Pastor Ed Young relates this illustration. Young said,

Several years ago I was invited to the White House to meet with a few key religious leaders and the President of the United States. NOW that was a pretty good offer, wasn’t it? It was the first invitation from a president this old country boy from Mississippi had ever received. I’d been out of town during the first part of the week and between flights I called home to check in. When I did, I learned that my son Ben’s basketball game originally scheduled for mid-week had been re-scheduled for the end of the week—and I’d missed one game already! The question was one of simple priority: ‘What’s the most important thing to me?’ Since the government had been running pretty well without me for a number of years, I called the White House and said, ‘Ed Young won’t be coming.’ (They recovered from this news beautifully). Instead I went to the game and had the fun of seeing my son shoot the winning basket. I have to confess that deciding between the White House and the school gym was not too tough. My wife and my boys are my highest priority.[2]

God bless Ed Young! Are your children a priority in your life? Perhaps you need to tweak your schedule like Dr. Young?

IV. Solomon shared great wisdom in the second part of Proverbs 29:15, he said, “a child left [to himself] bringeth his mother to shame.” I think the phrase “left to himself” best describes child care in America. Left in front of the television set unsupervised! Left in front of the computer without parental protection! Left with the babysitter! Left with the grandparents! Left at the mall! Left at the ball field! Left at the game room! Left at the movies! Left with the boyfriend or left with the girlfriend!

V. What about the Internet?
What are the perils of allowing your child to surf the internet without parental supervision? Could this be dangerous? Kids do it all the time! Are there really sexual predators on the prowl? Countless children have fallen prey to perverted pedophiles met on the internet. Furthermore, the online pornography industry has flooded the market targeting the curious minds of the adolescent. Their corrupt intention is to get your child hooked at a young age hoping to make them lifetime customers. You mark it down! If you give your child free access to the internet you are going to have problems! Make it a priority to keep tabs on your children.

Conclusion

What do you do when you don’t know what to do? Let me suggest that you examine your priorities. Are your priorities in line with God’s Word? Is God first in your life? Where does your spouse fit into the equation? How about your children? In reality these three relationships are interwoven together. Making God first in your life will help you be a better spouse and a better parent. Priorities seem to build off of each other. I think Jesus said it best, “seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33). The more successful I am at the top of
my priorities the better off I seem as I work my way down the pyramid.

Review:
1. Why do we struggle with priorities?
2. Who should be first in your life?
3. How do we keep our priorities straight?

[1] Paul Harvey, Signs of the Times, August 1987, p. 11.
[2]Ed Young, From Bad Beginnings to Happy Endings, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishing, 1994), 29.