The Hypocritical Parent?

As a parent, do you practice what you preach or do you live by the saying "Do as I say not as I do." Some parents take for granted the influence they have on their children. I am so blessed to have the parents that I have because they set the standard of practicing what they preached. They taught me the importance of living by example. Some of my fondest memories of my children growing up were when they went through the phase of mimicking everything Travis and I did. There were times when as I typed away at my computer my daughter would sit at her little Elmo desk making typing sounds with her little fingers. My oldest daughter loved (and she still does) playing dress up in my closet. When our son was two years old, he went for weeks without eyebrows because (without our knowing) he decided to shave just like his daddy. (It was nobody but God that kept him from cutting himself)

The reality is even though our children grow up and act as if they don't need us, they never stop watching us. How many times have you said "Now he/she is the splitting image of their mom/dad." Whether we be the best parents in the world or the worst, our children will eventually inherit part of who we are.

Generational curses are created or broken based on how we parent. If we set a Godly standard in our households, our children automatically become destined for greatness because they will then have principles to live by. You can't expect your children to live a life pleasing to God if you allow worldly influences in your home. We say we want the best for our children. We say we want for them to go farther in life than we did but then we introduce them to obstacles that could hinder their growth.

It's important to establish Godly principles for your children to live by because outside influences will eventually arise. There will come a time in your child's life when curiosity will set in and they will want to experience new things. Pop culture for example, has one of the greatest influences on our youth. Celebrities and artists set trends for fashion, how to talk, how to act and even how to handle relationships. We as parents become fans of these celebrities despite the negative influences they have on our children. We justify supporting their work by saying "Well I don't agree with how they live. I just love their music." We become blinded to the fact that while we are mature enough not to mimick what we see our impressionable children are drawn to it. These artists are about making the dollar first and being a good influence whenever their PR agents deems it necessary. Still we allow these same people into our homes via music videos, Ipods and YouTube.

Why do we tell our children not to be a certain way but we constantly watch that "certain way"? If what a person is doing disobeys the word of God, why do we allow it into our homes? Proverbs 17:4 says " A wicked doer giveth heed to false lips and a liar to a naughty tongue". This scripture took me by surprise. I didn't realize that for every time I entertained vanity and profanity, God considered me to be a wicked liar as well (and we wonder why our children lie and rebel).

With all of the tragedies and havoc going on in the world, my husband and I have chosen to add more caution to our parenting.  Our children know to only accept the best;role models have to come with the whole package. Anyone who's willing to compromise their dignity, expose their body, use foul language and most importantly not live for Christ for the sake of fame and fortune, does not meet the criteria. It's all about the standard. Travis and I may not be perfect parents but we refuse to be hypocritical ones.