Tips to Teach Your Child Honor

DIGGING DEEPER         05/11/2015   Teaching Your Child to Honor         Excerpt from Motivate Your Child: Christian Parent’s Guide to Raising Kids Who Do What They Need to do Without Being Told By: Dr. Scott Turansky and Joanne Miller, RN, BSN To motivate children to develop new patterns, parents often have to stretch their kids beyond the tendency to be selfish by requiring that they look for ways to think of others. A great place to start is with God’s Word. God designed our world and knows what works most effectively. He has given us principles that will guide our thinking. For example, Philippians 2:3–4 says, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” That’s a great family verse and can help get kids thinking of ways to contribute to the well-being of others. Romans 12:10 is our favorite verse for this area of the conscience. “Honor one another above yourselves.” That verse is for all people, not just children. However, honor is one of the qualities learned at home. Eight times in the Bible it says, “Honor your father and mother.” In fact, according to Ephesians 6:1–3, there are two parts to a child’s job description, obedience and honor. God has created a conscience inside a child that can be trained with those two principles. As children learn obedience, they’re learning to do what’s right. As children learn honor, they’re learning to think about others.       stand before Christ and share in his mercy     Hebrews 13:18 ties the concept of living honorably with the conscience. “We are sure that we have a clear conscience and desire to live honorably in every way.” The conscience God places inside a person provides an internal satisfaction when that individual does something kind for others. You feel good when you allow someone else to go first or have the best seat. In that moment you often feel a sense of greatness, having risen above the crowd. That’s what Jesus was trying to teach his disciples when he said to them in Mark 10:42–44, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.” In fact, when we consider others or serve others, we become like Jesus. That’s why he added in verse 45, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Teresa needed to think about others, become more aware of how her actions were affecting others, and then make some significant changes in how she lived and operated. Honor is a practical tool for conscience development, and teaching about honor can raise a child’s internal motivation in the area of thinking about others. We define honor in simple terms for children. As we see the concept taught in God’s Word, we say that honor is treating people as special, doing more than what’s expected, and having a good attitude. That’s a working definition of honor, helping children know how to put honor into practice. Even young children can memorize that definition. But honor isn’t just for young children. We tell teens that God has hidden within honor the secret ingredients you’ll need to be successful in life. When you treat others as special, it often comes back to you. Let’s take that honor definition, look at its three parts, and discuss how to use it in family life.     By Dr. Scott Turansky and Joanne Miller         K-LOVE - 5700 West Oaks Blvd. Rocklin, CA 95765 - (800) 525-LOVE (5683)     FACEBOOK     TWITTER     YOUTUBE     LISTEN ONLINE     FAQS       We hope you found this message to be useful. This email was sent as part of your membership at Educational Media Foundation, the parent company of K-LOVE Radio. Your email address is not sold to or shared with a third party. We sometimes use third parties to fulfill services for us, like email sending or music survey tests. In those cases they will have access to your information for the strict purpose of fulfilling their tasks. 5700 West Oaks Blvd., Rocklin, CA 95765 This email was sent to you at: lisatim93.labellabling@blogger.com Click here if you wish to Unsubscribe or click here to Edit your profile.