PREPARED IN THE CLASSROOM

Character, like a stake on a young tree, is what supports the fruit the Father wants to bear through each of us.

Simply put, character matters because it matters to God!

I’m often asked, “At what age should one start teaching about character?” My response is - character is for all ages, but the younger you start, the easier it will be to set the standard. It is much easier teaching a two-year-old about self-control than a teenager who has lived without it their entire life. Taking candy from a child is a whole lot harder than not giving it to them in the first place.

The Bible says in Romans 14:17, “The Kingdom of God is...righteousness, peace, and joy…” I don’t think it was an accident that righteousness was listed first. It is hard to walk in peace and joy when unrighteous ways like selfishness, rudeness, and a lack of self-control are present. If you want to release the Kingdom of God through your children as a family lifestyle, then here is your parenting job description: Cultivate a home where righteousness, peace, and joy are plentiful because this is where the Kingdom of God is.

This is not a one-time teaching. It’s a lifetime of cultivating righteousness, peace, and joy in your home, marriage, children, extended family, neighbors, in the midst of conflict, etc. It is a culture, not an activity. None of this happens by chance but by intentional parenting that often requires sacrifice and a lot of heart work.

We first have to define what good character is exactly. In a world full of contradictory opinions of acceptable and unacceptable behavior, it would be nice to know what we are aiming for. If righteousness is God’s standard, then His opinion should be our only goal.

Love

Joy

Peace

Patience

Kindness

Goodness

Faithfulness

Gentleness

Self-Control

The old adage that children should be seen and not heard is clearly not a healthy one, but there are times when children need to learn to exercise self-control with their mouths and bodies. Teachers would surely agree with me on this one. Call a family meeting and tell the kids that you are going to play a family game. Everyone sits in a chair, and you tell them not to talk, laugh, or move their bottom or back from the chair.

Then set the sand timer and explain if anyone gets down, talks, or laughs, you have to start over. Little bundles of flesh do not always like sitting still or being quiet, but they are practicing for when it is required of them. If your child honestly cannot do this for you in the living room, they will not be able to do it for a teacher in the classroom. Practice this until they are able to ‘win’ the game and accomplish the goal of exercising self-control over their hands, body, and mouth. (The key is to make it fun, not legalistic or fear based).

Go through the character list and ask Jesus to show you where your child is at with each one of them. “Jesus, how is Johnny doing with love? Peace? Joy?” Don’t be afraid of the honest answer as that is where they need your help!

Share