Raising Godly Kids

Raising Godly Kids, I think, as Christian parents, we would all agree, is our goal. We want our children to have Godly character. What is our motivation? How do you define Godly character and what are the steps to develop Godly character in your children?

10 Steps to Training in Godly Character

Godly character training is critical! Here are “10 Steps to Training in Godly Character.” This is Part 1 in the Series on Obedience in Children. Click on the links below to read the whole Series!

Read All The Posts in The Series on Obedience in Children and Share Them With Other Moms You Know Who Need This!

Part 1:  Raising Godly Kids

Part 2:What is the #1 Character Trait You Need to Train In

Part 3: How to Be a Success in Child Discipline

Part 4:How to Stop Being a Repeating Parent

Part 5:Christian Parenting is Tough

Bonus Post: How to Discipline My Child

First, Why is Godly Character Training Important?

Godly Character training in our children is a big deal because God paid such a huge price for our sin.

God takes these sins (yes, sins!) very seriously. So seriously, that He gave His Only Begotten Son, Jesus, to die for us on the cross, in payment for these sins. Why we must not forget, and why Godly character (in them and in us) is such a big deal, is because of what Christ suffered in payment for our sin! What God paid for it. That is why we must take Godly character training very seriously.

10 Steps to Training in Godly Character 

1. Examine ourselves and our own hearts, as parents, for right motivations and a heart that loves and obeys God
2. Commit our school year and family to the Lord
3. Fast and pray regularly for our children
4. Remember that Godly character is more important than academics
5. Stop our school day when there is a character/sin issue that arises and deal with it
6. Show our child from the Bible what God thinks about their actions and attitudes
7.  Lead them to see what they’ve done through God’s eyes and repent
8. Apply discipline and consequences, if needed
9. Give assignments right away that will reinforce the righteous thinking and action that God wants.
10. Assure them of our love and forgiveness and restore the relationship.

Parents, Examine Your Hearts

As parents, we must check our own example first. Let’s examine our hearts to see where sin lies and if we have been tolerating it. Then, humbly confess our sins to God and ask Him, and our family, for forgiveness. And, turn from our sins, replacing them with righteous behavior and attitudes.

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Commit Your School Year to God in Prayer

As you go into a new school year, and throughout the year, whether you’re Homeschooling or whatever method of education you have chosen, take time to commit your year, your children and your home to the Lord Jesus Christ and schedule a time of prayer and fasting periodically. Unless God is over your home, school and children, no true success will be accomplished. 

“I have been praying for my family, for my children, for their future spouses and their families, since they were born, maybe before” Wendy Gunn

Prayer and Fasting is Assumed in the Bible

Let’s go to our knees for our children (no matter how old they are) and pray for one another. Cry out to God for the salvation of those who have not yet believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, and for God to show each and every one of us where there is sin in our lives and give us a heart to repent.

If you have known me very long, you will know, and have heard me say, that our grown children love the Lord, and have a desire to walk with Him, and live for Him, not because of what a great job of parenting we did, but, by the grace of God and in answer to our prayers. We made plenty of mistakes. Many that we know about, and many that we don’t!

Stop School to Work on Character

As Homeschoolers, we know that academics are important, and it’s not our first choice to stop or interrupt the school day, especially if we have a lot of other things besides school also to do. We must realize that character and Godliness are more important than academics, though. We must be willing to show that we believe that. A couple of ways we do that are by prioritizing our spiritual lives and not being willing to sacrifice our own time with God–it must happen, no matter what.

Studying the Bible and prayer need to move to the top of the day’s priority list and first in the day. That will change everything! And, when we see sin and character issues crop up, we must be willing to stop the school day and deal with them. Math can wait. Language Arts moves way down the list. Training in righteousness must be the most important thing. And, we have to have a plan of action.

When you see sinful attitudes, actions and behavior in your child, stop and deal with it. It is extremely inconvenient to deal with sin in the moment you see it, but it will transform your home, if you do.

Read in the Bible What God Thinks of Sin

We can’t sweep it under the rug. Homeschooling doesn’t allow us to easily sweep our children’s sinful character under the rug. Being together 24/7, you kind of have to deal with it. That’s a good thing in the long run.

Before you take your child down the hall or begin to deal with them, pray and ask God to bind and rebuke Satan, to give you wisdom and grace as you speak to your child, to lead the child to repentance, and to bring Himself glory. Take your child aside privately and open up the Word of God with them. Read to them what God says about their behavior and/or attitude in the Bible. Ask them to then tell you what God thinks of their specific behavior or attitude, based on what you’ve just read. Lead them through questions (calmly and gently) to realize they’ve sinned against God and to repent for their actions and/or attitude.

Proverbs For Parenting by Barbara Decker

Don’t Make Me Count To Three by Ginger Hubbard

How to Know What God Thinks of It

Here are two good books to help you know what to call the behavior, how to identify the heart attitude, and what is the foundational sin, and most importantly, what God thinks of it. Proverbs for Parenting is really handy and quick:  you look up the attitude or sin, and it lists out for you specific Bible verses that talk about that sin.

Calling the sinful behavior by its Biblical name helps us and our children realize its seriousness.

 Don’t Make Me Count to Three!: Gives you suggested questions and the guidance to help you have a dialogue with your child that will get to the heart of the sin that caused the behavior, help the child to recognize it themselves, and lead the child to repentance and right heart and actions. Click on the image to purchase or find out more about the book.

One of the classic ways Satan causes us to tolerate and then embrace sin, is by encouraging us to rename it with a far less offensive name. We need to go back to what God calls it.

Character Qualities Found in Proverbs, That we Deal With Most Often in Our Children

• Slothfulness vs industriousness
• Unfaithfulness vs steadfastness
• Irresponsibility vs perseverance
• Ingratitude vs good stewardship of possessions/gratitude
• Wisdom vs foolishness

How to Give Appropriate Discipline and Consequences

Even though our child might be repentant, there may still need to be discipline or consequences given. Without anger, give appropriate ones. Make sure the one giving the discipline, also then prays with the child, and assures them of both your forgiveness and your love.

Finally, have your child do the right thing that they should have done the first time. Role play with them what that would have looked like. Pray with them. Smile and show them physical affection. They need restoration and this gives it to them.

Godly Character is the Holy Spirit’s Work

Let’s never forget that Godly character training is of utmost importance because Christ died for us, in payment for our sins. Though it is, ultimately, the Holy Spirit’s work to create righteousness in our children, there are things we can do to train our children in Godly character, including being a good example, dealing with character issues right away, using the Bible’s names for character traits and sin, and leading them to repentance and restoration. All by God’s grace, for His glory.

Read All The Posts in The Series on Obedience in Children and Share Them With Other Moms You Know Who Need This!

Part 1:  Raising Godly Kids

Part 2:What is the #1 Character Trait You Need to Train In

Part 3: How to Be a Success in Child Discipline

Part 4:How to Stop Being a Repeating Parent

Part 5:Christian Parenting is Tough

Bonus Post: How to Discipline My Child