Deuteronomy Parenting in the 21st Century

It is no secret that prayer and Bible Study are important for maintaining an intimate relationship with God. But when you are parenting young children, I think we can all agree finding the time can be challenging at best. And to top it all off, as parents we are not only responsible for our own Spiritual growth and development;  we are responsible for the spiritual growth and development of our children as well.  Between cooking, cleaning, and clutter patrol it is challenging to carve out even a minimal amount of quality time before the clock strikes bedtime and we have forever lost the precious opportunities we had – for THAT day. We sigh through our disappointment and exhaustion and vow to do better tomorrow.

My “children” are grown now, but I had four sweet cherubs pattering around my house at one time, too.  I know how the very thought leaves you both exhausted with the prospect of one more thing to do and guilt-ridden for so many reasons you don’t even want to think about.

But shame and reproach directly oppose the purpose of this blog post. The world dishes out enough blame to paralyze even the best of parents, but fortunately, the world doesn’t get to decide. God does, and in Deuteronomy chapter 6 He outlines the framework for raising our children according to His perfect plan.

Deuteronomy Parenting isn’t an inventory of tasks for your never-ending to do list.

It is life-style living desined to mold your child into the person God intends them to be through modeling and explicit instruction based on your day-to-day lives.

It is training up our children the way Jesus “trained” the disciples.

It seems a little overwhelming, doesn’t it? Ok, maybe a lot overwhelming, but I have good news. There is no verse anywhere in the Bible that says, “If thou livest the perfect life, thou wilt raise the perfect child.” Neither you nor your child is capable of being perfect; therefore, we will always fall short of the world’s standard. But God knows us better than we know ourselves. He doesn’t expect or demand perfection! He expects our obedience. And praise God! He honors that obedience and fills in the gaps where we we fall short.

Ironically enough, I believe I learned more from the “teaching” than from the “learning”.

Let’s face it. Some days it just doesn’t seem fair that God doesn’t send each child with a User’s Manual specific to their daily needs. It would be a whole lot easier if we could look up a precise day and time and read directly from the Creator Himself how to deal with every situation as we encounter it. But that is not how it happens. God expects us to be more involved in our kids’ lives than that. In my opinion the closest thing we have is Deuteronomy 6.

I want to challenge you to read it several times and meditate on it thoroughly. Make some notes on how you think Deuteronomy Parenting looks. Be as specific as you can.

In the next couple of days I will be posting my version of the type of Bible Study I have spoken about here that not only feeds you but helps you develop as a Deuteronomy Mother in the 21st Century.

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:4-9 (ESV)