With the school year beginning, life can get pretty hectic. School can be quite demanding on students and families and in my belief, education is vitally important to the development of children and adolescents. However, I do believe that sometimes our dedication to the academic success of our kids can become idolatrous if it exceeds our dedication to our children becoming disciples of Jesus. The question this month is:
How do you, as a parent, balance your child's academic and extracurricular activities with their involvement in church?
3 comments:
This is a tough question. I believe it is a balancing act and academics/extracurricular activities/church are not necessarily independent of each other. God has blessed each child (or person) with "gifts" or "talents" that He wants them to develop so that they can do His will more fully. As parents, I believe it is our responsibility to encourage our children to develop to their full potential so that they can be who God wants them to be and so that they can accomplish His purposes here on earth. And what is "church"? Is it attending services at the building or connecting with other Christians in our defined congregation? I believe that as Christians, it is our goal to serve Christ in everything that we do, to reflect Christ while we study our academics and while we play our sports. Sometimes, we can have more of a Christian influence on people as we do normal things that aren't necessarily considered "church". Of course, there can be so much attention placed on some things that church and Christ are ignored or placed on a back burner - that can happen with any aspect of life including pushing our kids too much in one area or another. And we do need to learn more about Christ and encourage fellow Christians and be the church (or the body of Christ). I guess I see it all integrated and a balance that must be maintained. As a parent, though, I believe that Christ should always come first and if that requires other things to be put on the back burner for a time (or permanently), that needs to be done. At the same time, sometimes I think academic and/or athletic and/or some other aspect of growing and development that may seem secular may also be God's plan for an individual and it almost seems "sinful" not to do our part to encourage growth in areas especially where it may seem that God has provided a special talent or gift. Of course, the goal and a very important part of all this would be to encourage them to use that gift or ability for God's glory.
Theresa Emlaw
Thanks for the comment Theresa. I haven't responded yet, because hoped that others would respond as well. I've had two parents tell me they've tried to respond but haven't been able to - so I'm working to see if I can fix the issue.
We prayed long and hard about taking Lindsey out of regular school and putting her into the new virtual public school. We did this for several different reasons. Although this is not what I expected to be doing at this point in my life (home schooling a high schooler), Paul and I chose to do this for her. We find now that more of her extra activities center around church and church activities. Although we are constantly questioned about our decision, and Lindsey is picked on about it we still feel it benefits her for now. Lindsey sets a good christian example for a young lady her age. She will help anyone and is always willing to work. She has laid flooring in the youth room and nursery, painted youth room walls and babysits for everyone. She is a worker! We feel we try to balance her academics and church as best we can.
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