| Parenting Tips by Dan DeGroat |
| Truth-weaving In Deuteronomy it says I am to have God's precepts on my heart, and “teach them diligently to your sons and talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.” Think of it as the daily process of insuring that the fabric of our children's lives is made strong for a lifetime by weaving in Kevlar threads of biblical truth. Here's an example from my own family. A Kevlar truth-thread is found in Proverbs 22:1: A good name is better than riches. From early on, Becky and I purposed to be intentional about teaching our children the priority of reputation over possessions. When they did what was right-maybe they told the truth when it would have been easier to lie, or kept a promise even when doing so became inconvenient-they received our praise and reward because they were establishing their “good name.” Every time they received some material blessing because of their good reputation, I would ask, “what's better than riches?” They'd answer: “A good name!” This little word game made truth stick. It was my way of reinforcing the reputation over possessions principle. It strengthened their resolve to do right. One day the “good name” principle was made vivid through a real-life situation with my oldest son, Michael; he was about 12 at the time. While I was away on an international trip, someone was doing drive-by shootings of cows along our stretch of highway. A new neighbor who really didn't know Michael, but knew that we would sometimes target practice on our property, made an assumption and reported him to the authorities as a suspect. A uniformed constable showed up at our door and asked for him. That was a heavy moment. | The officer looked at Michael and said, “Someone reported you as the one who may have been shooting cows in these pastures. What's your name, son?” “Michael DeGroat,” he answered. “Michael DeGroat!” exclaimed the officer. “Well, I know your daddy. I don't believe you did it. Don't you worry about this.” And with that, the officer left. Turns out it was not Michael who had done the shooting; and the police did eventually catch the guilty party. I think you'll agree that not even the best Bible study would have had as great an impact on Michael; the incident created a vital life-lesson because he got to experience the impact of the good name principle. Now, as an adult, Michael has the reputation of being a man with a good name. In his career as a financial advisor, though he has extensive knowledge of financial markets, investing, and planning; that knowledge would be all but useless to him if he did not also have a good name. When I returned home from that overseas trip, my family told me the story of the cows. I looked Michael in the eye and said, “I love you and am so proud of you. Tell me, what's better than riches?” Guess what he said. Summary:
Do you have a real-life story that could help other families on their child training journey? Email Dan DeGroat and tell him. You might find your story in an upcoming newsletter! ddegroat@globaloutreachgroup.org |
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