Instilling An Everyday Faith

We all have a rhythm.  As individuals, we control the rhythm of our lives by the choices we make and the priorities we set.  Families also have rhythms.  As different as every family is, so is their rhythm.  We make choices for our family and fill our schedules with some really great activities, events and past-times.  We make room on the schedule for what we believe to be important.

In the midst of our personal and family rhythm, where does spiritual development for our children fit?  Does it fit into a neat box that we have blocked out for church on Sunday morning?  By choosing to set Sunday morning aside for God, we are making a strong statement about our beliefs.  But God wants our attention more than an hour or two on Sunday.  So as parents, the tough question for us is: how on earth do we add another item to the to-do list?  How do we instill faith in our children and give them the instruction they need?

What if we shift our thinking and leverage the time we already have with our children to build a faith in them?  “If we can start thinking about spiritual development as HOW we do daily life rather than one more thing to do daily, we begin to make it part of our rhythm and not our to-do list,” notes Kara Daniello, Early Childhood Team Leader.  “It will be reflected as something that is important in our family life.” 

When Moses and the Israelites were nearing the end of their journey through the wilderness, he impressed upon them that teaching their children about God was not to be compartmentalized.  He needed them to understand the importance of integrating God into their daily rhythm. 

Deuteronomy 6:4-7 (NIV)  "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up."  

At the time, it was likely a commonsense message.  They were literally depending on God for food supplies raining down from the heavens.  Their path was directed by a pillar of fire by night and one of a cloud by day.  Their distractions from God were minimal.  They were talking about His presence throughout the day.  However, Moses knew that in a short while when they crossed the Jordan River, it would be much easier to lose focus on God.  The food would be plentiful and delectable.  They would drink from wells that had been dug before them.   Life was about to change dramatically from their time in the wilderness.  Moses knew they needed to integrate God into their family rhythm or He would easily be forgotten.  

The distractions in our lives, thousands of years later, have increased exponentially.  This generation of parents is more intentional about creating opportunities for our children to develop into well-balanced kids more than any other generation. We want to make sure that they excel physically, academically, and socially.  They are engaged in sports, music lessons, drama, art classes, tutoring, scouts…the list goes on.  Our rhythm is busy and full of lots of great “stuff.”  

If we shift our thinking to integrating God into the rhythms we live, we release him from the Sunday morning box.  We can influence the time we have with our children to incorporate a faith in God.  Moses referred to four times that we can use as teachable moments with our children.  Those times might translate a little differently into current times: when we start our day, when we drive in the car, when we eat meals together and when we tuck them in at night.   We can use these times to teach our children how God is providing for them, working in their favor, available to listen, etc.  Dr. K. Powell, Sticky Faith, recommends, “Discuss your own faith journey and all of its ups and downs, too.” These conversations demonstrate to kids that God is relational. By doing so, we are establishing an every-day faith in our children: One that will more likely stick with them beyond their impressionable years. 

Kara Daniello challenges us, “As we embark on our church-wide campaign in just a few weeks, I’d encourage parents to reflect on their family rhythm and how they can use the time they have to integrate faith conversations into it. Our rhythms might have changed from what Moses described, but the opportunity and responsibility to instill a faith in our children has not.”  We will be expanding on these ideas over the next couple of months and look forward to partnering with parents on these issues. 

 

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