"The Neglecting of Our Children" By Shane C. Montgomery

      The number of men, women and children in this world that call themselves "Christian" sits at about two billion.  Out of those numbers, half are practicing Roman Catholics, one eighth of that two billionl are practicing Eastern Orthodox.  The rest refer to themselves as Protestant. Out of these people, 623 million claim to be Evangelical Christians, or in other words, people who believe in the Bible completely.  About half of this number resides in the U.S.  Half of the worlds total population think they are true Christians that are going to Heaven after this life on earth comes to an end.  


Can these numbers be right?  You and me, we both see with our own eyes whenever we are out and about, shopping, at work, running errands, what ever, we see it don't we!  The surveys say that 85% of the US are Christians, but when we are out there we see an entirely different story.  



We see, far and away a nation of sinners, a nation of unrepentant peoples.  Is it true that 8 1/2 of every 10 we see are those that belong to Christ?  Why does their lives show the very opposite?  If they answer to Christ and are being conformed to His image, then why do they so flaunt their sinful lifestyles?   It is no secret, and we have Scripture to tell us, that not all who call themselves Israelites are Israelites.  Not all people who believe they are Christians are Christian.  Most of these are truly unregenerate.  



  You know those people who say they are Christian but you never see them in a church.  They say they are Christian but they are not members of a local church, they are the ones that take off from worship every single Lord's Day, they always seem to have an excuse. To be a Christian means you crave worship!  You count down the days until you can publicly worship God.  One gentleman I knew, my age, who presented himself to be most learned and most devout, but every week he had something else to do, something more important, like take his son to soccer practice.  Every Sunday for two month his child had practice at the very same time, during Sunday morning worship.  When I would question him about this, why he felt it was more important to have his son in soccer practice over in worship to our Lord, he said he wanted what was best for his kid.  I confess to not being very much a fan of soccer, I prefer football, baseball and basketball, but even these fine activities must take a back seat to Christ. 


   More than that, they are most enjoyed by me and my family, but these are activities that bear no fruit, so they are placed at the bottom of the list of the daily and weekly activities.  I am all in favor of exercise and in no way do I decry sports, but they must have their place in the believers life, and I am sorry to say, that place is low on the list.  Christ comes first, especially with our children, if we truly loved them we would want them in church, in The Word, in Prayer, in meditation, in study and every thing else would come in second, well, their education would come in second, their school studies must not be ignored.  Between their church attendance, Bible study, prayers, family worship, private worship, and public or private education, our children should not have much free time at all!   Sounds a tad harsh but it is a reality.  The summer months are no exception either, these months are also to be spent in the edification of our young.  The world does not need another mediocre soccer player, it does not need another 11 year old female gymnasts, it needs more Godly young people growing up to be Godly adults.  We are raising a bunch of sport smart, internet addicted, talented in the areas that mean little and ignorant in the areas that mean everything!  What good is your son's ability to kick a soccer ball down the field or your daughters ability to do a back flip?  How will this help them later in life?  It wont, will it!  


  But bringing them up in God's Word and in worship to Him, edifying them in all things Godly and righteous, well that is what will get them through life, that is what will get them to the next life as well.  We spend so much time and energy on our children but we neglect the most important of duties.  We worry more about their popularity than we do their salvation.  We worry more about their sports then we do their souls.  How is this loving.  If you are one of these parents, I ask you to stop what you are doing and get your children into the things of God.  Stop making excuses, if you love them you will tell them about His Word.  Bring them up the way God wants you to and not how the TV says you should.  


  But you will refuse, you will have a million excuses, none of which is worth the rotten food in the bottom of my trash bins.  Your excuses are nothing but laziness, that and the fact that you my dear parent, are not regenerated yourself, so why worry about your kids.   You lack the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, this is why you care so little of the things of God, and why you care even less for your children.  I am not judgmental, I do not know you, but if this post angers you, I do know you, I see you daily and daily I hear your excuses why you put such little effort or love into your children.  Are you tired from working all day?  So what!  How much are your kids worth to you?  You have the energy to earn a living, now find some energy to give thanks for that living. 


   Justification is one thing, many believe they are Justified, but few can claim to being Sanctified.  Let me assure you, if you are not being Sanctified you are not Justified.  You might have been lied to by a local pastor, or even worse, some shyster on TBN that has promised you salvation for your accepting Christ into your heart and praying the prayer they told you to pray, but if Christ is not doing a work in your life, if your entire life, every minute of everyday is not consumed by the things of God, well then, you are not being Sanctified, you have never been Justified, you are deceiving yourself, why, I have no idea.  Satan uses this false hope as a way of keeping you for himself, can you recognize this? This alone should snap you awake and out of your dull drums.  One of Satan's best tools is to keep you in an ignorant state of slumber, to blind you of the dangers you are in, to tell you that you are doing right in your duties as a parent. Satan depends on your sloth in order to maintain ownership of you and your children.  I can only beg you to seek Christ now, beg for Him to find you and deliver you from your life of bondage.  Seek Christ first, seek His face and cry out to Him to save you.


   God can and does save whom He chooses, the blood of Christ is a pardon for sins, but not a universal pardon for all, but rather a pardon for the sins committed by those elect by God for salvation and eternal life, if this is not you, then seek His face in prayer and  in tears. Christ paid the ransom for His children, are you still captive?  Nothing else on earth is as important as the redeeming blood of Christ, nothing else, not money, not fame, not health, no talent, nothing, not intelligence, nothing.  Only Jesus Christ can save you.  If He is in your life, you will know it, you will hate the things you once loved, the things you once ran for, now you flee from them, you turn from sins and you run to Christ!   Sanctification is an ongoing work, once it starts, it will finish, you cannot stop it, neither can anyone else, though Satan will try.  Seek Christ first, seek His love.  


Be Holy!
Shane