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3 Ways to Protect Your Child From Their Own Heart

While that’s a big ask, it’s such a simple principle to live by. In a world that is telling our kids to “follow your heart” and “do what makes you happy” and “you be you”, this message is completely contradictory to what they are hearing in the culture.

Trusting God with all one’s heart means submitting your will and way to God’s, not your own. This requires sacrifice and surrender.

2. Don’t Trust In Your Own Heart

As humans, we have a natural tendency to trust in our own feelings and reasoning to direct our decisions. Solomon says that nothing could be worse.

He basically repeated the first point but in reverse. He says that the opposite of trusting in the Lord with all your heart is trusting in yourself by “leaning on your own understanding” and by “being wise in your own eyes.”

Parents have a great opportunity to teach their children not to be led by their feelings & emotions, but to be led by grace & truth. These two concepts if followed to their end will lead to two completely different destinations. Our children need to know this.

3. Acknowledge God In Everything

There are so many things competing for our children’s hearts, but so very few that actually matter.

What would it look like to teach our kids to acknowledge God in “all their ways”? How could that change the way they view their money, siblings, school, sports, television, authority, daily decisions, etc.

Teaching our kids to acknowledge God in every area of life starts by them seeing this practiced first in us. Think of how many things might change in our lives (and theirs) if we filtered everything through an “acknowledge God first” lens.

Here’s a great question to teach your kids to use in every situation – “Am I doing what I want to do…or what God wants me to do?”

Acknowledging God first practically comes through living out the great commandment to love God with all our heart (Matthew 22:37), and to live in such a way so that everything we do is done ‘heartily’, as to the Lord (Colossians 3:23).

How could you be a Solomon to your kids this week and teach these three things as preventative maintenance against a heart disease of the worst kind? May we teach our children that “your heart is not your friend,” and may we protect them from the dangers of their own heart in the process.

Here are some discussion questions to use with your kids this week:

  • What kind of things will a person naturally do if they follow their heart (feelings)?
  • Why is it important to trust in the Lord rather than trusting in our heart? How is it different?
  • How can acknowledging God in every area of our life protect us and others?

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