Children are a sacred trust from God, not just recipients of entitlement.
There’s a conversation we must start early with our children, not when they’re grown and already faced with the harshness of life, but while their hearts are still tender, while they’re still asking questions, while they still run to us with childlike faith.
We must teach them that serving God doesn’t mean life will always be smooth. It doesn’t exempt us from pain or loss or trial. But it does mean this:
God will be with us and at the end of it all, we will be with Him.
God says: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you.” (Isaiah 43:2).
We should teach them early that serving God does not mean you automatically receive a free pass to indulge in all the desires and pleasures of the world. John MacArthur once said, “The only way you’re living your best life now is if you’re going to hell.”
And I couldn’t agree more. Especially in these times where “living your best life” often translates to doing whatever pleases you. A life centered around pleasure, parties, self-indulgence, and unchecked desires, no room for discipline, no heart for sacrifice, no appetite for purpose.
Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:19 “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.”
Our real reward is not here. We’re not here to indulge the flesh, but to crucify it.
We’re not called to comfort but to obedience.
Not to just “enjoy the moment,” but to walk in purpose, even when it costs us.
Jesus Christ said in Luke 9:23 “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”
The world might call it “boring” or “too intense.” But we know the joy that comes with following Jesus isn’t rooted in temporary thrills. It’s eternal.
May we never raise children who live to please their flesh. May we raise soldiers, servants, ambassadors, sons who understand that the life they live now must count for eternity. We are not called to live our best life now. We are called to live His life now.
Galatians 2:20: “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”
Acts 17:28: “For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.”
Why Does This Conversation Matter?
This conversation matters because we don’t want to raise entitled kids who think life is just about enjoying all the good things and avoiding hardship. We want to raise children who understand that following God means a life of sacrifice, a life where every part of them belongs to Him.
And even more, we don’t want the world teaching them that God is some harsh, angry figure who’s just waiting to punish. No, we want them to know the truth: God is a good, good Father.
He’s full of mercy.
Slow to anger.
Rich in grace. (Psalm 103:8)
So that God can be the one and only person they turn to when life gets real; not to drugs, alcohol, or the many other destructive things people use to numb the pain and heavy blows life sometimes deals us.
This is so important because we want to raise men and women who can stand firm in their faith, people who know what they believe and why they believe it.
We don’t want our children to be like leaves blown around by every new teaching or false doctrine that comes their way. We want them grounded, rooted deep in the love of God.
We want them to be people whose joy and satisfaction don’t come from the latest trends or what the world offers, but from knowing who they are in Christ.
Colossians 2:6-7 says “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught…”
That kind of foundation can’t be shaken, it’s what keeps them strong when life gets tough.
Don’t Let Them Grow Up Entitled to Ease
Let them know early that the goal of life is not to escape hardship, it’s to be faithful through it, to walk with God through it.
Joseph was a man with God’s promises, yet he went through betrayal, slavery, false accusations, and prison. But he clung to God, and God was with him through it all. (Genesis 39:2, 21)
Let them know that being children of God doesn’t make them the center of the world.
Teach them to live inside-out, not obsessed with their flesh, their looks, their possessions, or what they have compared to others, but with what’s eternal, what’s within, what’s true.
1 Samuel 16:7 says “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
Let’s teach them these things while it’s still day, while they are still young:”
1. Teach Them to Pray
Together with them, have real conversations with God. Let them see prayer as normal, something we do like breathing.
Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me” (Matthew 19:14), and He meant it. Their voices matter. Their prayers matter.
Let them pray with you, even when the words are jumbled, even when they’re sleepy ad simply muffle amen
2. Teach Them to Depend on God, Teach Them They Are Not Ours to Own
We are custodians. Guardians. Stewards. God owns them. In fact, they are His gifts to us, a reward from Him. (Psalm 127:3). We are simply stewards, like Hannah, who gave Samuel back to the Lord (1 Samuel 1:27–28), or Jochebed, who risked it all to preserve Moses for his assignment (Exodus 2:1–10).
God created them. Then He redeemed them, and bought them with a price, not with silver or gold, but with the blood of His Son, our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ .
They are His prized possession.
That they are God’s Let them know that being a child of God is not just a comfort, it’s a calling.\
They’ve been enrolled into God’s service.
Resist the temptation to be their savior. We are not their saviors. We are not their source. God is. Let them see you also cry out to God, wait on Him, and trust Him. Say things like:
“Let’s ask God what to do.”
“Let’s pray together about this.”
“Only God can really help us here.”
Let them see how you lean on God, and they’ll learn to do the same. They would come to know the real provider and protector isn’t mommy and daddy, even mommy and daddy depend on God for these things.
3. Let Them Make Declarations Too
Sometimes, they’ll say things that don’t even make sense to our adult minds. But those words, their faith, their sound, rise up like incense to the Lord. Don’t silence them with “You’re too young.” Let them prophecy. Let them declare God’s truth over your home.
Encourage it. Celebrate it.
4. Let Them Into Your Trials
They don’t need all the gory details, but we don’t have to pretend to have it all together.
Apostle Femi Lazarus once said “anyone who wants to be Elshaddai, shall die”😂. I love that.
It’s okay for them to see your faith in the fire.
Let them watch you pray when it’s hard.
Let them believe with you, trust God with you.
Let them in.
Jesus Christ let His disciples see Him “sorrowful unto death” in Gethsemane (Matthew 26:38). He let them witness real vulnerability wrapped in surrender. He let them see He was simply doing as He saw His father do. (John 5:19).
Paul said ‘follow me as I follow Christ’. (1 Corinthians 11:1)
Dear parents, especially dads, let your children join you in praying over needs, however small. When they see God answer, it strengthens their faith.
Let them hear you declaring the truth of God’s word over pain.
Teach them early that we lean into God, not away from Him, when things get hard.
Finally,
Let’s raise children who are not entitled, but trust in God.
Let them grow up knowing:
- That life won’t always be easy, but God is walking with them through it.
- That pain doesn’t mean abandonment
- That God can be trusted
- That eternity is real
- That they have a purpose
- That the God who made them and sent His son, Jesus Christ to die for them, is also the One who sends them
- That they are His; in joy, in sorrow, in life, in death, and for eternity and this is the greatest and best news!
This is how they know God for themselves.
This is how they serve and walk with Him.
