Author name: Brother Ijay

Last Sunday in my church, we continued our Bible Study on the Lord God and the Reign of Peace by looking at the role of the Church in Nigeria in creating a Godly rule. Our focus for this week is Nation building; that is, the church has a role to play in Nation building. Well, that concept is neither strange nor new to anybody who has been following the sub theme because the first topic we discussed was praying for leaders. On that Sunday, we learnt that the assignment for the church to pray for those in authority is not optional but a commandment. We also saw that it’s prayers for leaders (not cursing them or grumbling) that makes us have peace in our society. 2 Timothy 2:1-4 So, take away for us from last Sunday School is that nation building is not the exclusive reserve of those appointed in positions of authority; it’s for anyone who comes from a home. The basis for that study is that God has put everyone in homes and it’s as the Church gives attention to building every member of their homes that we export the right people into our society. You know, it’s easy to talk about the evils in our society and point fingers at those responsible but often we lose consciousness of the fact that everyone who is involved in any evil behaviour in school, marketplace, office and public position came from a home under a parent or caregiver. Parents and caregivers are not just people saddled with the responsibility of providing food, shelter and education for those under them, they have the all-important assignment of moulding children under their care. That’s why in one of the texts we read, God inspired Solomon to pen down an instruction for us, “Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it.” Prov. 22:6 NLT From this text, we find that contrary to what some parents say, children don’t just turn out anyhow God wants them; Children turn out the way their parents moulded them. I have heard many older parents say things like, “It’s God that raises children” in a sense that absorbs them from their sole responsibility of how their children turn out. From that text, we see that although children are gifts from God, the task of directing them the way they should go has been given to parents. “But, are you saying God has no hand in how the child turns out?” No, I never said that. In fact, to be able to do any and everything on this earth we need God. I mean we know that if God doesn’t watch over a city, the watchmen are staying awake for nothing; but that scripture didn’t say watchmen should abandon their duty posts because God is watching over a city. They must still watch! My emphasis is that God has given you a duty post to occupy in raising your children and your job description is not just to pay rent at school and provide money for special chopping. It extends to MOULDING those children under your care and that’s one major important assignment you CANNOT abandon or delegate to a hireling in their dormitory or house helps! Many of those who complain about how their children turned out after providing them with “everything” they need fail to understand that money is NOT  everything a child needs to turn out right. They either fail to understand or allow greed and ambition blind them to the fact that in addition to providing money, their children equally need the listening ear of their parents.  They assume that once they have paid expensive school fees, dormitory fees and dashed the hostel master some money, their children will be taken care of. They forget that the hostel master has his children at home and dozens of such children under his care and can only afford superficial attention on any particular child. So, they abandon their children in the hands of people who are directing them in all kinds of ways and when they grow older, parents start wondering if their children came from their womb or witch coven. For every father (and mother), our desire should be that as your wife is dropping another newborn in labour room, God will brag before the angels like He did about Abraham, “For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice, that the Lord may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.” Gen. 18:19 NKJV People of God, it is when we realize that the young people who have become full-blown and shameless ashewos used to be very innocent children in church singing and acting drama during Children’s Sunday, that we understand that we can’t leave parenting to chance. It’s easy to reject such by fire and cover your children with the blood but if you finish your rejection and covering without going back to your duty post with a renewed vigour for work, you are mocking God. Guess what, the Bible said that God is not mocked that whatever a parents sows, he shall reap. “Mr preacher, you think parenting is easy in today’s economy?”  Did I talk about it being easy? No, it’s not my sister. It’s work. That’s why wise parents who understand the gravity of this work shelves their ambition to make sure their children get adequate training.  They turn down job offers, some even reject transfers at the risk of losing their jobs and take less paying jobs just so that they will have time to ensure they carry out this assignment well. Whatever you do as a parent, don’t lose sight of this important instruction: “Teach children how they should live, and they will remember it all their life.” Prov. 22:6 GNT We’ll talk about this parenting matter