What's the Point of Parenting?

I was just listening to a song by Lecrae called “Misconception.”  The more I look at our culture, I’m beginning to think that we have many misconceptions about the point of parenting.  Two covers of one baby magazine that we get in the mail have recently had the titles “How to raise a genius” and “How to raise a cultured child.”  Then, of course, that “Time” magazine cover has opened up the floodgates of this idea of “attachment parenting”– orbiting your whole world around your kids’ “needs.”

We may have some misconceptions.  And, yeah, maybe we sympathize with the struggles of families on shows like “Parenthood” or laugh at what we have in common with the families on shows like “Modern Family,” how often do we really think about the point of all this?

Craig Groeschel leaned into this issue at the Orange Conference.  He spoke to the culture.  Let’s be honest, our culture says that parenting is all about “raising well-rounded, well-educated, happy kids.”  Maybe you can throw in some other things that you like, but those seem to be three biggies. But, Jesus says, “What good is it if you gain the whole world yet forfeit your soul?”

Groeschel reminds us of Psalm 71:18:

“Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, till I declare Your power TO THE NEXT GENERATION, your might TO ALL WHO ARE TO COME.”

This should be our prayer.  There is a different picture of successful parenting that is laid out in Scripture, and it looks something more like this:

“We are called to unleash single-minded, Christ-centered, Biblically-anchored, world-changers.”

Let’s break that down.  

• ”Unleash” means that you let them interact with the world, make a difference in the world (you can’t do that from a “holy huddle”).  
• ”Single-minded” implies that our kids would know how they are wired, what their gifts are.  
• ”Christ-centered” rightly assumes that life is all about Jesus.  
• ”Biblically-anchored” means that they would know God’s Word.  
• And the result of all of this would simply be that they are “world-changers.” 

How do we do this?

Deuteronomy 6:4-9: “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 upon your hearts.  Impress them on your children.  Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you...

Written by Paul Mannino