BIBLICAL PARENTING: Are YOU Teaching YOUR Kids to be Set Apart, Different, and Holy?
Friday, September 28, 2012 at 10:48AM 
BY EEW MAGAZINE EDITORS
Any great parent teaches their children to believe in themselves and strive to be their best. But Christian moms and dads have a greater task: teaching our children to be holy. This is not always an easy job in such a secular world where truth is relative and anything goes.
To be holy means to be righteous, set apart, distinct or different from the world. As Believers, we don’t exhibit the same behaviors, attitudes, or manner of living. At least, we shouldn't.
So how can we teach our children to live up to God’s standards of holiness set forth in His word beyond modeling it in our everyday living? We have to literally tell them what it means and let them know that God expects them to live that way!
In an article published by Shepherd Press, the author does a great job explaining holiness in a simplified way which is perfect to pass along to our children (ourselves too).
“A Christian is to follow the teaching of Scripture and not follow the basic teaching of human tradition and philosophy. A Christian is to be sensitive, not sensual. A Christian is to see Jesus Christ as the way, the truth, and the light, not a way, a truth, and a light,” says the SP article. “In short a Christian is to be distinct from the world. A Christian is to be holy.”
The word of God is very clear. He not only told the nation of Israel to be holy in the Old Testament, but His word gives the same command to the New Testament church. That includes us. 1 Peter 1:15-16 says, “But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy.’”
Sadly, many Christians these days don’t understand what it means to live holy. So how can we pass something along to our families that we do not ourselves grasp?
A 2006 study by Barna, a research group that studies trends within the faith community, showed that, sadly, most Americans are baffled by the concept of holiness. When pressed to describe what it means to be holy, one out of five adults, that’s 21% said, “I don’t know.”
As Christians, we must continually seek to know and understand the ways of God. Otherwise, we will fall by the wayside and so will our families.
What are your thoughts on holiness? Do you teach your children that God requires it? Do you think preachers preach holiness enough these days?
Reader Comments (3)
Great article! I strive to teach my kids about God. I will be sharing this lesson for sure! Praise God for the info.
Holiness is not taught enough any more I don't think. It's just not "Popular" or feel-good enough. But if we don't preach it we will see so many people lost including us and our kids. Love this piece.
We teach em John 3:16 that God loved so us so he gave his son to die. But we don't teach about OUR part and that's living right. I agree that we have to tell our kids what it is to be HOLY. God requires it!!