Is your home filled with equipment intended for entertainment and leisure? If so, perhaps it would be worth reconsidering your goals and vision for how you want to lead your family in spiritual growth. In the 4^th segment of a 20-article series on family devotions, Dr. Don Dunlap encourages parents to examine their motivation quotient as it relates to regularly leading their children in family worship.

When my wife and I visited some casual Christian friends a few months ago, our host and hostess invited us to tour their beautiful home. We were amazed to see televisions and VCR’s in every bedroom, and Playstation game systems in each of the children’s rooms. As Neanderthal as it must sound, we have actually managed to raise ten children with no TV or video games in our household at all. What’s even more amazing is that all of our children are generally perceived to be well-adjusted individuals and they seem to possess fairly acceptable social skills.

God’s Word stands on its own merit. We do not have to use gimmicks to lure our children to family worship.

Must we entertain our children?

Rather than entertain our children, we decided we would seek to lovingly train them to be servants for God’s glory. We were aware of how television robs us of precious hours and how it serves up a steady diet of unbiblical, worldly philosophies. We determined that by God’s grace, we would use the few short years that our children were entrusted into our care, to invest God’s Word in them as creatively and as aggressively as we possibly could. We purposed to guard their tender hearts and impressionable minds from the influences that bombard us through the media.

Many parents tell me that they simply are not motivated to train their children in this way. They claim that it is much easier to let television, for example, baby-sit their children at the end of a long, hard day. I ask them to prayerfully consider the fact that a lack of motivation to train our children is directly related to our own spiritual lukewarmness.

Family members are quick to detect a lack of spiritual genuineness and authenticity.

Often parents face the obstacle of a credibility problem with their families. Because they have not lived a consistent Christian life before them, their family members won’t listen to them and they do not respect their testimonies. Or some parents may feel like hypocrites trying to lead their families along a path that they themselves are not walking.

Mothers and fathers who find themselves in this situation must humble themselves before God, their spouses and their children and admit their inadequacies. They should ask forgiveness for their disobedience to God, in failing to provide a worthy example of Christ-like leadership. They will then be in a position to establish a meaningful family worship routine.

• Keeping Family Worship Simple
  Family devotions don’t have to be long and complex to be meaningful.
• Four Daily “Teaching Moments” for Parents
  Understand the four natural “teaching moments” that occur during the course of every day.
• Making Time for Family Worship
  If you think there’s not enough time for family worship you may want to re-think your reasons.
• Does God Call Us to Entertain Our Children?
  Have you thought about whether your home is a place of entertainment or an educational center?
• Setting Reachable Goals for Family Worship
  Are you “running out of gas” in your efforts to lead family devotions? Set simpler goals.
• Creative Ideas for Family Worship
  All out of ideas for creative family devotion times? Read on for some helpful suggestions.
• Making Family Prayer Time Meaningful
  Want to raise children who know how to pray? Pray aloud with them and ask them to pray with you.
• Seizing the Teachable Moments
  The Faith, Obedience and Sin Principles are three important truths we must teach our children.
• Teaching Children Life Principles
  Family devotion time is a prime opportunity to invest life-changing principles in our children.
• Children Can Become Faithful Stewards
  Parents are responsible to help their children steward their possessions and choose godly friends.
• Teaching Children a Healthy Fear of God
  If your daily schedule is crowding out family devotions you can simplify and reach your goals.
• Child Character Training
  As parents we must not neglect to build godly character into our children’s lives. Read how!
• Why Should We Teach Our Children Character?
  Our children must possess godly character in order to impact their world for Jesus Christ.