cramming_religion

I overheard a conversation the other day between two people who grew up in Christian homes.  Neither of these people are serving God today.  In fact, both of them have made choices that would be deemed very un-christian.  Teen pregnancy, heavy drinking, and a very obnoxious unbiblical world view were all part of life for them.  I understand that not everyone who grows up in a believing family decides to walk the walk.  However, it was what was said by one of these people that got me thinking.

What do you expect when you have religion crammed down your throat growing up?”  So is passing your faith on to your children “cramming religion down their throats”?  It’s a question I posed on the web site SoulPancake and got varied responses.  So your parents made you go to church.  They made you go to school too.  Does that mean they “crammed education down your throat”?  They probably bought you Christmas presents every year.  Does that mean cool gifts were “forced upon you”?  Please pardon your parents for caring enough about you that they don’t want you to spend eternity in hell.  I suppose if they were better people they would have just left you to burn you self-absorbed turd!  (Sorry about that.  Allow me to regain my composure.)

The point is this: we are all responsible for the choices we make.  We’ll all stand before God to give account for the way we lived our lives.  Using the excuse “my parents crammed religion down my throat” is just a horrible cop-out.  Take responsibility for your own idiotic decisions.  We all make them so grow up and stop blaming your parents.  As parents, we have a mandate from God to raise our children by the Book (Proverbs 22:6) and we will be held accountable for it.  Knowing this, I’d rather have my kids unhappy with all that “God stuff” than have to answer to The Almighty for not sharing The Truth with my children.  I fear God more than my three younglings!

As the Body of Christ, we have to think generationally.  The church will not end when we pass away.  Lovingly nurturing our children to a passionate relationship with Jesus is an awesome ministry and should be a high priority above careers, hobbies, or other fading pursuits.  We brought them into this world and we need to show them how to make it safely out!  Psalm 127:4 compares our children to arrows in a warrior’s hands.  We can prepare them to do serious damage to the kingdom of darkness.  This doesn’t happen by itself.  Invest in your children’s eternity, even at the risk of them gagging… a little…

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