Good afternoon, everyone, and happy Saturday! If what my work kids all told me this week is any indication, many of you are dutifully sitting on the sidelines of some kind of sports event while some of you are scrambling to get a gift for a friend’s birthday party that’s coming up soon. I’ve even seen a few family pics of one of our After School girls loving life at the beach with her Dad, Mom and grandparents. 
Point is…I don’t even have to tell you that living life with littles or even middles is a full-time job that is usually dogpiled on top of an actual full-time job. Time comes at you fast, considering all the boxes you have to check each week and then seems to escape through your hands when you’re not looking.
There was an old adage from when I was little about 500 years ago where parents gleefully extended themselves to “give their kids the world” and although the saying may not be as prevalent now, that is exactly what plays out each evening and throughout each weekend of your busy schedule. It’s a hard rip current to avoid in the sea of our culture because everyone, and I mean everyone, is clamoring in its undertow. My wife and I did it back in the day and only now that the kids have left (or escaped, depending on perspective), do we see what it looks like from the outside. It’s exhausting. Though it’s almost like it’s a badge of honor or courage to “suffer” the consequences of always being on the go in the name of social status or fitting in.
The world is a beautiful place and there are countless opportunities with which we have been blessed, but please, in equipping your child’s budding sports career, adding another state’s sticker to your child’s map, or spending what we would all agree is an insane amount of money to gird them for another season of cheer, don’t forget your primary, God-given responsibility that far outranks giving them the world.
We are called and even commanded to give our kids Jesus. Not the sometimes cheesy caricature of Jesus you might see in some places or splashed across social media, but the Jesus clearly described in the Bible. Are you well-versed in God’s Word enough to tell the difference? I’ll tell you from a lot of ministry and even personal experience…it’s hard to lead your kids (because they will follow you WHEREVER you go, good or not so good) in the things of God if you yourself are not committed to the journey and looking across the horizon of the news and social media, the casualties of chasing the thrills and chills of “following your heart” or “doing what makes you happy” are everywhere.
Lead your children at home in the ways of God. Lead your children to church, making it YOUR priority. Lead your children in who and what they surround themselves with. These represent the highest calling we have as parents, yielding eternal dividends instead of another plastic gold medal.
Tough words, parents, but words I give you in love and with respect…enjoy your weekend.
Efimerios <><
**Photo Credit: Ben White from Unsplash
