School, Sports, Socializing, Spirituality...what's most important?

We worry about everything when it comes to our kids. We worry about their education and about their physical development. We make sure they have the clothes they need, the food they need, the stuff they need. We want them to actively participate in sports, in school functions, in social events and parties. We spend so much time, energy and money to make sure our kids are well-rounded. And yet, the most important thing of all is so often neglected: the spiritual. All those other things are fine and can even be good and healthy, but if the spiritual life of your child comes last, none of those other things will even matter in the end.

I would speculate that the main reason for this neglect is simply that the parent's own spiritual life is lacking. Maybe you have so many unanswered questions or a negative spiritual upbringing yourself that you aren't sure how to approach spirituality with your own children. That's really a lame excuse, though. If you care at all about that baby you brought into the world, why wouldn't you treat his spiritual life with the importance you treat his school life or his social life or his sports life?

God wants to walk in relationship with your child. He cares more for your child than you ever could, so why don't you do the most important thing you could ever do as a parent? Open the door for your child to have a vibrant, lasting, ongoing relationship with God. Make spirituality a priority in your own life first, and then in your family life. It doesn't have to be perfect, nor should it be weird. It just has to be real.



c2010 lorenda houston