RAISING A SON TO BE A MAN OF GOD
As boys get older, they tend to confide in their dads more. Not like they did when they were toddlers and needed mama for everything. Let them go to dad and don't interfere. They understand each other! You know, that man to man stuff.
BE AN EXAMPLE OF HOW A GODLY WOMAN IS & SHOULD BE.
I pray for my children daily and I also pray for all of their spouses as well. I have since they were babies. I know, I know, that's years away, but God hears the desires of my heart and years away or not, He already has His perfect plan in place. It is my job as a mother to be an example of a Godly woman so that one day, my son will want that in a wife and mother. He is watching the way I react to things, if I'm quick to anger, if I show grace, if I take care of my family and our home.
LET HIM HEAR YOU ASK FOR FORGIVENESS WHEN YOU ARE IN THE WRONG AND FORGIVE WHEN SOMEONE HAS WRONGED YOU.
No one is perfect and if we were, we would not need Jesus Christ. But we do, BIG time! I want my son to know and understand that he will fail God daily, but when he does, he needs to go to Him and ask for forgiveness. Same for if he wrongs anyone else. Being able to admit your wrongdoing and ask for forgiveness is huge and such an amazing trait to have.
I also want him to be able to have the heart to forgive when someone wrongs him. Let's face it, it will happen even though my mama heart never, ever wants it to. I want him to be able to forgive someone who has wronged him and I want him to be able to forgive someone even if they are not sorry. Sometimes in life, that happens. But for the sake of his own heart, I want him to know how to do that. I often think about God and how many people in the world do horrible things but never confess their sins to Him. They never ask for His forgiveness, yet, He still loves them.
I also want him to be able to have the heart to forgive when someone wrongs him. Let's face it, it will happen even though my mama heart never, ever wants it to. I want him to be able to forgive someone who has wronged him and I want him to be able to forgive someone even if they are not sorry. Sometimes in life, that happens. But for the sake of his own heart, I want him to know how to do that. I often think about God and how many people in the world do horrible things but never confess their sins to Him. They never ask for His forgiveness, yet, He still loves them.
LET HIM SEE YOU PRAY AND READING YOUR BIBLE.
Ever heard the saying "monkey see, monkey do?" Our sons are watching us. They see when trials come and how amazing would it be to instead of reacting in anger, they see us cry out to God for help or open the Bible for answers. Not just when troubled times come, but it should be something we do every single day. It shouldn't just be on our daily checklist of things to do to get into God's Word every day, it should be how we want to start each day.
LET HIM LEAD NIGHTLY DEVOTION AND PRAYER.
Speaking from personal experience, when you let them help lead your family devotion, they learn to love it and ask to do it often. Before you know it, they will come into the family room, Bible in hand, asking if they can read a verse that night. Let them.
TEACH HIM TO BE GRATEFUL.
Gratitude. I want to raise my son to be grateful for all things. From the food on his plate, to his prayer that God answered no to, to his family, to unwanted situations. To the wonderful times in life to the hard times in life .. in all things, I want him to give thanks.
LISTEN TO HIM.
Boys like to hold things in more than girls. When my son comes to me and asks to talk to me, I know it must be really important. So I always stop what I'm doing and make sure I make eye contact with him so he knows he has my full attention. I want to make sure he always knows he can come to me & trust me with whatever he needs to talk about.
PRAY FOR HIM AND HIS BUDDIES.
The world only continues to get meaner and so often, we let people's actions and decisions influence us. Peer pressure is real and it's important for us to pray for the friends that our sons have. Pray that they are good examples of Christ, that they are good influences, and that they are trying every day to live their life for the Lord. Also pray that your son is the kind of friend who is an example of Christ and that never forgets Whose he is.
TEACH HIM TO BE HUMBLE AND KIND.
They may go to school with a brand new pair of shoes, but that does not mean they need to go brag about them and how much they cost to other people. Teach them to be humble. Teach them that others may not be able to have things like that and that is okay. They are still masterpieces of God, just like we are. There will be first days of school and first days of school after Christmas break where they want to go talk about all the new things they got & while it's okay to be excited about those things, it is NOT okay to go share and brag about them. God gives mercy to those who humble themselves before Him. Just because someone doesn't have the things you have or doesn't look like you, doesn't mean you shouldn't be kind. It is our duty as Christians to befriend them. No one should be treated differently. I don't care if my son grows up to be a doctor, engineer or a football player .. what I do care about is that no matter what, he is kind.
RESPECT.
Teaching our sons how to treat a woman is crucial. Teach them to hold doors for women, to open car doors for them and to use their manners. Even more than that, we need to teach our sons that when it comes to females, no means NO. That may sound silly but as a mama to two girls also, I pray that any guy that comes into their lives, his mama has taught him that no means no.
TAKE THEM TO CHURCH.
We need to teach our sons the importance of serving. Just saying we are Christians is not enough. We have to live our life for Christ. We have to serve. We have to study the Bible. We have to be in church so that we are constantly being fed the Word. We want when our sons are out from underneath our roof, to continue to go to church and someday when they have their own family, that they keep them involved and lead them well.
Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
Epshesian 6:11-12
Epshesian 6:11-12
2 comments
What a beautiful post. I hope you will share with your son as he grows older and then someday perhaps has a son of his own. How true that our kids are reacting like monkey see, monkey do. I failed to give my daughters a formal religious background but am trying hard now to be a mom and grandmother that models godliness and grace. One of my daughters felt like I was always so eager to offer advice when she had trouble, that I never just listened and truly heard her. I try very hard to do better now days. Beautiful post.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! I am sure you are an amazing mama!
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