by Jefferson David Tant<\/p>\n
There are many things that tend to discourage and dishearten those who are striving to teach others, but few things can do the job more effectively than when members allow their children to put school activities and\/or selfish desires first in their lives.<\/p>\n
We wonder if it is possible that some parents care so little about their children”s eternal welfare that they allow them to act as the prophet Eli”s children. His sons brought a curse upon themselves because Eli “restrained them not<\/em>” (I Samuel 3:13). I am sure Eli”s boys did not start out as evildoers but probably wanted to “to go along with the gang” and tried to get away with as much as they could. Rather than taking the time and inconvenience to channel their energies in the right direction, Eli simply let them have their own way,<\/p>\n When parents abdicate their responsibility of making the right decisions for their children and do not teach them to make the right decisions for themselves, they cannot justly com-plain when their children begin to show more interest in the material over the spiritual.<\/p>\n Christ gave up the glories of heaven and lived a life of poverty and rejection. He experienced cruel pain in literally pouring out his life”s blood as the supreme sacrifice for us. And what do we in return? Do we teach our children to make any sacrifices for the Lord? We give little enough time to the Master as it is, and when the hour to assemble comes, of whom do we first think? Are personal pleasures and desires sacrificed that Christ might come first? Oh, no! The only sacrifice on the part of some takes place when they “crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame<\/em>” (Heb. 6:6). With these, self is the first and prime consideration. If they want to bowl, go to a party, go on a date, study school lessons, play in sports, practice for the school play – that comes first! Christ is pushed aside to make room for satisfying the desires of the flesh.<\/p>\n Is this acting as the “light of the world,” or the “salt of the earth?” Does this cause the world to glorify God because of our good works and sacrifices? It more nearly corresponds to the blind leading the blind-with both falling into the ditch (Matthew 15:14). I am sure young people can make a great impression concerning the importance of the kingdom when their friends and companions see them forsaking the worship of God in order to indulge the flesh.<\/p>\n Brethren, there is more to “soundness” than believing the truth on issues that trouble the church. Souls can be lost and churches can lose their candlestick (Rev. 2:5) over more things than present-day issues. We should teach our children that it should be considered a joy to sacrifice for Christ, rather than teaching them to whine and plead for their parents to “give in” and let them call their own tunes. Too often Satan ends up calling the tune.<\/p>\n We thank God for those who yet count it a joy to sacrifice for the one who sacrificed all for us. Let us be mindful of these matters as our children go to school.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Jefferson David Tant There are many things that tend to discourage and dishearten those who are striving to teach others, but few things can do the job more effectively than when members allow their children to put school activities and\/or selfish desires first in their lives. We wonder if it is possible that some…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27,1028],"tags":[665,29,515,107],"class_list":["post-32488","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","category-parenting","tag-child-rearing","tag-parenting","tag-priorities","tag-raising-children"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":67925,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/he-restrained-them-not-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":32488,"position":0},"title":"He Restrained Them Not (Sanders)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 4, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by James Sanders The life of the Old Testament figure, Eli, is remarkable. Eli was a descendant of Ithamar, the fourth son of Aaron, and therefore was of the tribe of Levi. Combined in this man of God were the offices of both High Priest and Judge. It was the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":24242,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/he-restrained-them-not\/","url_meta":{"origin":32488,"position":1},"title":"He Restrained Them Not (Iverson)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 31, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"by John Iverson Do you think juvenile delinquency is an evil that is peculiar to our day? If so, then you would do well to read your Bible, particularly such passages as are found in the book of First Samuel. Eli was a judge in Israel and a priest of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/First_Book_of_Samuel_Chapter_2-1_Bible_Illustrations_by_Sweet_Media-300x216.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":62300,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/eli-and-being-soft-on-sin\/","url_meta":{"origin":32488,"position":2},"title":"Eli and Being Soft on Sin","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 22, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0There are many things to admire about the man Eli \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0He judged Israel for 40 years; during which time he was God\u2019s spokesman. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We find no record of any outward evil or sin in his life. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0When Eli learns that Samuel will take his place, Eli\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Parenting"","block_context":{"text":"Parenting","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/parenting\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":50391,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/those-who-will-give-an-account\/","url_meta":{"origin":32488,"position":3},"title":"Those Who Will Give an Account","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 21, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton \"Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you\" (Hebrews 13:17). Most recognize the quote from Hebrews\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2095,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-spanking-hurt-a-childs-feelings\/","url_meta":{"origin":32488,"position":4},"title":"Can spanking hurt a child’s feelings?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 21, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: My son was very rude and would not explain his behavior. I must mention that it has been over a month since the last time that I spanked him. At that time I gave him a spanking in front of everyone. It was very effective, so I used the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":21213,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/my-daughter-said-she-would-marry-when-she-moved-back-in-with-us-but-she-and-her-boyfriend-are-still-unmarried-what-do-we-do\/","url_meta":{"origin":32488,"position":5},"title":"My daughter said she would marry when she moved back in with us, but she and her boyfriend are still unmarried. What do we do?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 3, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: My daughter and her fianc\u00e9 moved in with us over two months ago because he lost his job. Part of their plan was to move a great distance to where his dad lives. I told my daughter that they had to get married immediately upon their arrival and she\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32488","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32488"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32488\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32488"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32488"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}