A Parents Job

We can all agree whether you are a parent, want to be a parent, or have parents, parenting is tough. We can all agree whether you are a parent, want to be a parent, or have parents, parenting is tough. It is hard-work with no guarantees. It doesn’t come with a manual attached or a one-size-fits-all approach. It is overwhelming.

If your like most parents, you think your doing an okay job based on your own standards. You look at other parents and the way they parent and you know your doing a better job then they are. You work hard to provide you children with the best possible life. Your committed to giving them everything you had growing up and more. You want them to feel loved, be safe, have good friends, be well educated, and plugged into church somewhere.

The invisible problem that has hampered our children is that we have taken Gods standards out of our homes and have built our family on what American says is significant as parents and your child’s well-being. We have replaced God with ourselves. As a result we have diminished our children’s potential.

So what is the parent’s primary role in the lives of their children?

A parent’s primary job is to gradually transfer dependence away from them until it rests solely on God.

Mom and Dad, it is your responsibility to transfer dependence. Overtime it you’re your job to teach you children how to depend on God in their lives. Depend on God with school, relationships, a career, sports, etc. Depend on God.

How are you transferring dependence for your child?

With strings attached.

Why is it that at times when we help others, partake in a random act of kindness, or serve someone we expect something in return? Why is our giving with strings attached?

We do something for someone and stick around waiting for a “thank you”.

We buy something for someone as small as a few dollars we expect them to pay us back.

Some people tithe to the church just to get a huge deduction on their year end taxes.

People serve on short term mission trips in 3rd world countries so they can check it off their “to do” list.

We sponsor Compassion International children so we can brag that we are helping others out.

So here is my question: “Why do we serve with strings attached?”

Helping others and truly serving other should be an expression of our lives. It’s not something to be compartmentalized as only a “feel good” experience, mission trip, or a charity event we hold for our community. We should have a servant attitude in our heart in everything we do, everywhere we go. It isn’t just something we should do expecting something in return or wanting from the other person. Serving others is hard-work. It is inconvenient.  It’s tiring to serve those in need. It’s emotionally training to pour your heart into the needs of people. In return it is so incredible easy to turn a blind eye or act like we didn’t see the need, to not get involved, or even to just send a check.

What would happen if we served others the way Jesus served others? Jesus saw people differently. When He served, hurting people were healed, sick people were cured, confused people found answers, accused people were forgiven.

It is about real people; people that matter to God, no matter where they are and what they look like, they matter.

When we engage our hearts and serve from a place of honesty and love, with no strings attached, we will have the opportunity to display the love of Christ to every person on the planet. His honest approach to helping others points the attention away from our ego and pride expecting something in return and starts pointing to the One that really matter, God.