Family Friday 10/14/22

"Protecting Their Heart"

Proverbs 4:23

Another important thing that we need to do if we are to win our children’s heart is to guard their heart. In guarding their heart while they are young, we are teaching them how to guard their heart themselves when they are older.

How can we guard our children’s heart? We will guard their heart when we guard what they think about. Guarding what our children think may sound impossible, yet it can be done with diligence. We will guard what our children think about when we guard what we let them see and hear. “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.” (Proverbs 23:7)

All too often parents feel no need to guard their children’s heart, especially when they are older, because they simply trust their children. I think it is a find think to trust our children, but we should not trust them too far lest we give space to the Devil to invade. It’s okay to have trust in your children, and believe they will do what is right, but true trust while it is grown must be verified. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9) It’s not about a lack of trust in our kids, but we should not trust this world they have to grow up in.

If we are to protect the heart and thoughts of our children, this means that we must give careful consideration to several things. We must consider…

1. WHAT THEY WATCH.

2. WHAT THEY LISTEN TO.

3. WHAT VIDEO GAMES THEY PLAY.

4. WHAT POSTERS THEY HAVE.

5. WHAT BOOKS THEY READ.

6. WHERE THEY GO.

7. WHO THEY SPEND TIME WITH.

8. WHAT KIND OF TOYS THEY PLAY WITH.

9. WHO IS EDUCATING THEM.

10. WHAT KIND OF EXAMPLE ARE WE.