Jospeh Joubert once said, "Children need models more than they need critics."  The struggle of children in this day and age for most is not who the children are now but who they might be later.  We see the morality and spiritual direction of our kids in this culture going further away from where they need to be going, yet all we seem to be able to do about it is watch and lament.  No matter how much parents try, they cannot guarantee that they will raise Godly offspring, because they cannot make their children choose to go one way or another.  So what are Godly parents, grandparents, and concerned adults supposed to do so this next generation can follow a path that leads to God?

Paul dealt with this issue in Ephesians 6:4 when he said, "And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord."  The idea of provoking children means to inspire or stir anger within them.  If we model anger in our dealings with kids, or constantly criticize their behavior to try and fix them, we'll only end up creating anger in their hearts.  Instead, Paul instructs Fathers to nourish them, chasten them, and instruct them in the teaching of the Lord.  But what does that mean?  First and foremost, it means we must model the behavior, the faith, and the conviction that we want our kids to have within our own behavior and in our interaction with them.  We also need to appeal to their minds and hearts, and instead of provoking them we need to feed them, through encouragment, loving discipline, and teaching with God's word and will as a foundation.  If we do not have passion for God we greatly hinder their ability to find that passion.  If we are angry all the time, we will teach them that.  Whatever we want our kids to learn, we must do, and converse with our children instead of speaking at them. 

Our kids are faced with more tempations, more struggles, and more challenges than many of us faced growing up.  They need us to model faith, love, and devotion to God and let that seep into our interactions with them.  Our children need models more than they need critics, so we must do all we can to model Christ in all we do towards them.  God bless our children, Michael