Their Tomorrow Depends On Your Words Today

Posted on Jul 31, 2014 in Parenting Article | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

 Their Tomorrow Depends On Your Words Today

According to a study conducted by the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute, Hispanics who have gone to college rank their parents as being most influential in their decision to continue their schooling.  So an ad campaign by The Hispanic Scholarship Fund and The Ad Council challenges Hispanic parents to talk to their children about college and encourage them to pursue higher education.  The ads close with the reminder, “Their tomorrow depends on your words today.”

There are two things that strike me about that closing slogan.  The first is that your words as a parent have tremendous power to influence your children.  That is especially true when your words communicate God’s Word.  Scripture compares God’s Word to a hammer, a sword, seed that grows, light that illuminates, and a raging fire.  Paul calls the gospel the power of God for the salvation of all who believe.  The Greek word for “power” is the word from which we get our English word “dynamite.”

The second thing that strikes me is that it is important to parent with the future in mind.  If you want your kids to go to college when they are 18, you need to talk to them about college when they are 8.  If we want our kids to believe in Jesus and lead a life of faith when they are adults, we need to teach them the Word of God when they are young.

Moses reminded the Israelites of these very things just before he died.  He told them: “Assemble the people– men, women and children, and the aliens living in your towns– so they can listen and learn to fear the LORD your God and follow carefully all the words of this law. Their children, who do not know this law, must hear it and learn to fear the LORD your God as long as you live in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.” (Deuteronomy 31:12,13)  Moses stressed the long-term goal of parenting: Our children living God-fearing lives as long as they are on earth.  He also stressed the means for accomplishing that goal:  “The words of this law” or God’s Word.

Children need to “listen”, “hear,” “learn,” and “follow carefully” the revelation of God in his Word because it is not something they naturally know or live out on their own.  Yet it is the most important thing they can learn for it is the message that gives your children eternal salvation through faith in Jesus and that empowers them to live a life that honors Jesus and reveals his love.

“Your children’s tomorrow depends on your words today.” As Christian parents especially, take that message to heart; but trust in his words, not yours.  Teach your children God’s Word at home and bring them to church and Sunday School to regularly hear and learn God’s Word, looking forward to that tomorrow when they are adults whose trust and life is centered in Jesus, and beyond that, when they will live and reign with him in heaven.