One of the articles was, "Raising Kids to Stand Alone." It is something that a lot of modern parents seem to forget to teach their children and is the cause of compromise, not only in parents and children, but in the church as well. If we never learn to stand alone, we will cave into the norm or the crowd. If we never teach our children, they will follow suit. I like how the author of the article talks about rare people and gives us 4 categories:
- Rare Person #1 - born-again believer in Jesus Christ.
- Rare Person #2 - born-again believer in Jesus Christ who knows WHAT he believes. Too few Christians today are able to explain to others what they believe in critical areas of life.
- Rare Person #3 - born-again believer in Jesus Christ who knows what he believes AND is willing to stand up for it.
- The Rarest of Them All - born-again believer in Jesus Christ who knows what he believes, is willing to stand up for what he believes, AND is willing to STAND ALONE if necessary!
He talks about how truth often walks alone and I think of Jesus and His lonely road that He had to take when all forsook Him. Most Christians are the top 3, but few are the kind that will stand alone when necessary in the face of compromise. It isn't a "popular" place to be, but it is one that Christ understands and will reward you for as He sees you stand when tested. Sadly, a lot of people would rather man have a good opinion of them more than stand alone. We had some friends that their main purpose was to look "good" in a leader's eyes and I guess after so many years of that idol, they got tired of it and are no longer with us today. Whose fault is it? They chose to get man's approval for a time but only to their destruction.
The last few quotes are from the last section of the article about preparing our kids to stand alone:
"Standing alone is the heritage of those who know they have a superior way of life."
"Men that have moved the world are men that the world could not move."
The last few quotes are from the last section of the article about preparing our kids to stand alone:
"Do your children know your standards and values in key areas of life? Do they know the rules about where they can go and what they can do? Are the rules spelled out clearly, or are they vague and unclear?"
"Talk with your children about how they should respond when friends and other people they're with try to pressure them into doing something they know isn't right."
"..make sure that we as parents, are being a good example in this area."
"If our children watch us compromise our principles under pressure, the lesson they learn in that situation will undermine everything else we try to teach them."
