9 Out of 10 Parents Don’t Have A Biblical Worldview
9 Out of 10 Parents Don’t Have A Biblical Worldview
I think we can all agree that parenting is hard sometimes. The sleepless nights, multiple meltdowns, and SO MUCH laundry. Then on top of that, we have to raise our kids. Not just raise them, but teach them how to live a godly life; our children are constantly learning from us.
But there’s more. The core values and beliefs we pass down to our families make a huge impact on who they are, what they do, and what they believe. These traits are often affected by what is portrayed in the home - a reflection of the way we view the world. Our worldview.
Talk about pressure!
So, what is a worldview? It is a collection of attitudes, values, stories, and expectations about the world around us which informs our every thought and action. And for Christian parents, it is imperative that we instill a biblical ideology into the lives of our children, especially since our way of thinking is fully formed by the time we are teenagers.
However, a recent study from Arizona Christian University shows us that 9 out of 10 parents don’t have a biblical worldview - And even worse, they don’t follow any specific ideology. These parents have a way of thinking that consists of a mix of many belief systems, or they don’t have one at all. In a study done by Barna, he states, “Sadly, the research confirms that very few parents even have the worldview development of their children on their radar,”
What about the church?
After noting that the Bible assigns the worldview development process to the child’s family, Barna mentions the role of the community of faith. He points out that neither of those seems engaged in the task. This puts our children at a spiritual disadvantage because we are not teaching them a biblical worldview.
How can we help our kids if we can’t even define our own value systems?
One of the most important things that we, as parents, can do to help our children nurture their faith is to have a solid biblical worldview. Barna tells us, “A parent’s primary responsibility is to prepare a child for the life God intends for that child. A crucial element in that nurturing is helping the child develop a biblical worldview: the filter that causes a person to make their choices in harmony with biblical teachings and principles.”
Here are some ways we can teach our children a biblical worldview Here are some steps can you take to teach these things to your children:
Have conversations with them about the world.
The world is ever-changing and these conversations can sometimes be very hard. But they are so necessary to help your kids develop into mature Christians.
Talk to them about God outside of the church.
If you go to church every week in a year, that’s 52 times that they hear about God. There are 365 days in a year, that’s only 14% of the year that they are hearing about God. Make every day count.
Pray for your kids.
This world seems to be getting crazier and crazier. There are a lot of things that we can do for our children as parents, but there are things that only God can do. Give those to him.
We as parents need to do better about instilling God’s truth in our kids. We have to teach them these things from a young age because, by the time they’re teenagers, they will have their worldview set and in use.
My question to you is, what worldview are you showing them, if any?
