Godly Parents

The godly offer good counsel;

they teach right from wrong.

They have made God’s law their own,

so they will never slip from his path. Psalm 37:30-31

IF THERE IS ANYTHING we’d love for our children to say when they tell the story of their lives in the future, it would be that they had godly parents. We want more than for them to say that we took them to church or claimed to be Christians. We want their testimony to be that their parents were genuinely and pervasively devoted to Christ. So what does that look like according to Psalm 37?

“The godly offer good counsel; they teach right from wrong.” This doesn’t mean that godly parents always give good advice, but that the guidance they provide to their kids is rooted in the wisdom and justice of God himself. God’s Word has become a part of who they are. “They have made God’s law their own” by internalizing it so that it is part of their very fabric. Scripture grounds them in God so that they are not unstable.

Kids raised by such parents see their parents consistently loving the Lord, loving each other, and living according to God’s Word. As much as they might want to try to change their parents in some ways, they know this connectedness to God will never change, and they are glad for it. It gives them security in an uncertain world. They can tell themselves with confidence: Mom and Dad will always put Christ before anything and everything. The Bible will always shape their opinions, judgments, and counsel. When hard times hit, they will turn to God and seek to trust him. And when they die, I won’t have to grieve as those who have no hope. I will have peace knowing that my parents are enjoying the “wonderful future [that] awaits those who love peace” (verse 37).

Lord, ________ will never have perfect parents. But we want ________ to have godly parents. We want your Word to become so much a part of who we are that ________ can always be sure that our counsel is biblical, godly counsel. We want to walk so closely and consistently with you that ________ will have peace when we die, knowing we have found forever shelter in you.