JOY
The goal of producing joy is not to make your children happy—even though most parents rightly want that for their children. The Bible makes a distinction between joy and happiness (Psalm 68:3).
Here are some actions you can take to instill the fruit of joy in your child’s heart:
• Don’t reward everything. Life should not be a big celebration. Life shouldn’t revolve around the next big event.
• Have a sense of humor. Have fun parenting. Let them see you enjoying life.
• Be positive. Children can’t take the pressure and stress of life that an adult has to handle.
• Allow your children to enjoy life at the age they are—without trying to make them someone they are not.
• Life is difficult and there will be trials, but let your children see you use trials as something you learn from and have faith during; trusting that God will work all things for good.
• Remind yourself that Scripture says to “be joyful always.” Model it for them.
PEACE
Peace is a foundation for other great character traits you will want your children to have. The Bible says we can have peace that is there regardless of the storms of life. I know many adults who would like this kind of peace themselves. You would certainly want it for your children.
Here are some actions you can take to model peace for your children:
• Pray for your children daily in their presence. This shows them the importance of prayer and relying on God for daily strength.
• Teach them to pray. Jesus taught His disciples to pray. Help your children understand they can talk with God anytime. They will catch on quickly. Faith comes much easier when built as a child.
• Let them see you read your Bible regularly. Truth can ground us when we are afraid or stressed.
• Talk about your faith. Peace is found in a relationship and they need to see that modeled for them.
• Remain cool in stressful situations—as best as you can. It’s OK that they see you emotional, but they should quickly see you display a peace that surpasses understanding.
PATIENCE
This is a tough one for me because it is one of my weak points, but it is a part of the fruit of the Spirit God has encouraged us to have. And our children need it greatly.
Here are some actions to help your children have this trait:
• Let them see you waiting patiently. (If my boys or my wife reads this, they will be wondering when they will see this in me. Still, I have had to wait for many big picture things in my life many times. I’ve attempted to do so patiently.)
• Make children wait sometimes. Yes, I said it. Children shouldn’t get everything right away and they certainly shouldn’t be able to demand it with temper tantrums or tears. One statistic I read says that children today get 90 percent of everything they want, yet as adults they will get less than 25 percent. We are setting them up for failure when we give them everything.
• Don’t be a complainer. Do everything without complaining or arguing (Phil 2:14).
• Don’t let your children think they are the center of the universe. They are not—actually God is. Encourage them, but don’t crown them kings.
