Success

Success. We all want to have it, right? We want to be financially comfortable and  have a fruitful career. We want to have plenty of friends and a nice home that never gets dirty or needs repairs.

We want dogs that never chew up shoes.

We want children who score the winning touchdowns, make the honor roll, and obey the first time they’re told to do something.

And if we aren’t careful, we can tend to turn our kids into trophies, looking to them to make us feel that we did a successful job in parenting. It’s okay to be proud of our kids. But we should never look to our kids for our self-worth that should only come from God.

There will be times our kids will let us down. They will embarrass us by throwing a tantrum in public. They will refuse to share a toy in the church nursery or strike out in baseball. They may grow into adults who walk away from God. And that is something that happens even to the best of parents. Adam and Eve had the perfect parent, and we all know how that turned out.

Are we focusing more on what our kids accomplish than what the Savior accomplishes in their lives? Are we more concerned that they do well in Bible drill or instead that they apply Biblical principles to their lives?

In his book Parenting: 14 Gospel Principles That Can Radically Change Your Family, Paul David Tripp says that parents “tend to be angry and disappointed with their children, not first because they’ve broken God’s law, but because whatever they have done has brought hassle and embarrassment to them.” Ouch! (By the way…if you haven’t read it, get that book! It is the best parenting book I have ever read!)

Our role as parents isn’t to mold our children into little robots who do whatever we want them to do. Instead we are to mold them into people who do what GOD wants them to do. Tripp says to parents, “God has designed that you would be a principal, consistent, and faithful tool in his hands for the purpose of creating God-consciousness and God-submission in your children.”

As we discipline our children and grandchildren, it’s important to remember that instilling a God-centered life in those little impressionable souls is more important than anything else.

Are we living a God-centered life as an example to them?

And are we praying for God to accomplish His work in their lives?

What is our measure of success?

Success
I look in wonder at your faces, and I life my heart in praise,
So glad God gave us children to mold and love and raise.
Each one of you is different, yet my love for each the same…
Love not changed by circumstances—devotion words cannot explain.
I hold a tiny body closer and feel warm breath upon my cheek.
Too soon the baby years are over, lost in routine week to week.
I hear the sound of playful laughter and the squeals of joy and singing,
Dancing feet in stocking sleepers, unaware the joy they’re bringing.
You look so fragile and unblemished, I want to shield you from life’s blows,
To preserve somehow your innocence before your childhood goes.
Yet I watch your independence as you learn so much each day.
God has special plans for each of you, and as parents we must pray.
We pray that as you’re growing, you will seek God with a thirst,
Persevering through life’s problems to still love and serve Him first.
And we pray that through your lifetime your faith will deepen and mature
To instill you with commitment to give God a life kept pure.
Sometimes it’s hard to live for Jesus. You can’t do it on your own.
That is why you’ll find us daily kneeling at the Father’s throne.
You see, our biggest job as parents isn’t making shopping sprees,
Or paying bills or cleaning—it’s the time spent on our knees.
And when our children take our teachings, some lessons saved and others tossed,
If they don’t have a love for Jesus, “success” won’t matter—all was lost!
-Bobbie Perkins