The Plague of Spiritually Weak Parents
Let’s get real for a moment: We have raised up a bunch of spiritually weak parents. Yes, they want their children to go to heaven. But they also want their children to fit in with the world. They want them to excel at sports. They want them to have the lead part in the high school play. They want them to enjoy prom–after all it’s a once in a lifetime rite of passage.
They are perfectly fine with them listening to the same songs and watching the same videos their worldly friends listen to and watch. They are perfectly fine with them missing out on lectureships/Gospel meetings because most of their friends won’t be there. They are okay with them dressing in tight and revealing clothes, because everyone in their generation is doing the same. They are okay with them showing up to Bible class with no Bible. They are okay with them using language that is disrespectful and does not honor God.
Why, would parents be okay with all of this? Because their children have their baptism card–so they are good.
And, because the parents themselves are spiritually weak.
I see it every weekend when I hold Gospel Meetings and seminars. The vast majority of those in attendance are over 65 yrs old. The young people–who are on the frontline of the culture war and really need the information–are noticeably absent until Sunday morning worship.
It’s not the young people’s fault. It’s the parents. While they may have gotten their children baptized in the church, they stopped and did not train them up in such a way that they love God more than anything else.
Far too many parents today do not prioritize the spiritual health of their children. Instead, they want their children to be “happy,” and so they surround them with things of the world. Sadly, the next generation will likely not even show up for Sunday morning worship. And their children will not know God.
Church, we aren’t going to fix the problem until we address this real problem and start teaching some tough love sermons from the pulpit. Elders need to be bold enough to teach on this in Bible classes. Youth ministers need to stop providing spiritual welfare and entertainment, and instead, assist families to do what God commanded parents to do.
Until God becomes the #1 priority for church families, families will continue to commit adultery on their first love and wander back out on the broad way. Yes, our numbers are on the decline. But no one is talking about the other issue–and that is the spiritual decline of those physically present.