Mom Heart Moments #191

It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.

WE HUMANS ARE COMPLEX CREATURES, shaped internally by drives, fears, pride, ideals, hopes, and other unseen but influential forces. Even though they are not likely to be completely “in control” of us, let me suggest just a few representative negative influences that could affect our parenting.

When the sinful self, often called the flesh, is in control, we’re not thinking about God or doing His will. Even though we are new creatures in Christ, we are still tempted by our sinful nature. And if we let emotions control us, strong feelings can affect how we interact with our immature children. Emotion-filled reactions such as anger, judgment, or criticism can replace thoughtful and reasoned actions. Also, we can let fear —of what others think, of doing the wrong thing, of angering God —control us.

Finally, there is formula parenting —uncritically following patterns we’ve been told are the best methods of parenting or just parenting thoughtlessly by habits and routines.

Those negative human forces, and many more, can influence our parenting, but only if we let them. The good news is that we have a choice; we can learn to let God be in control of our parenting. We can let Him become the controlling influence in our lives so our children will see the new person we are becoming in Christ, not the old person we were before. That happens through three positive influences by which God comes into our humanity —faith, freedom, and love. Much of parenting is simply learning to “walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7) —trusting in God for His wisdom, insight, and discernment to become the Christlike parents our children need. Faith, then, gives us the freedom to follow the Holy Spirit’s ministry in our hearts and not be enslaved to man’s laws and rules.

Are you walking in the freedom Christ died to offer to you in your life as a parent?