ICS Daily Devotions
A Time to be Born
Have we missed the opportunity to be present at the birth of our child? Have we missed the growing up years of our child and then wonder why we don’t have a good relationship with them?
Ecclesiastes 3:1-2a (NKJV) To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven. A time to be born…
The Book of Ecclesiastes talks about times and seasons, and we need to understand that we will enter into different roles in different seasons of our lives. For example, there will come a time for us to get married and thus our season as singles will be over. Similarly, when our child is born, we need to take on the role of a parent to our child. Having different roles means that we will have to make adjustments to our priorities based on the biblical values and principles that we hold.
One of the greatest struggle or decision for a young, married and successful couple is who should stop working to care for the newborn. Besides bonding with the baby after giving birth, we should also be aware that the most important and critical time with our children is from infancy to the age of twelve years. These are the formative years of their lives and someone has to be the positive voice of influence to them. This is the critical time for us to build the foundation of unconditional love towards them so that they will understand that if we do correct, rebuke or discipline them, it is based on this foundation.
Unfortunately, when parents refuse to give up their careers to be with the child, then there will be less bonding, no time to build the strong foundation, less opportunities to draw close to the child in their growing up years, and possibly lose the ability to influence them. We have placed our career advancement ahead of our child’s development.
We have either subtly or decisively believed that money, career and personal development are more important than the baby that God has blessed us with. The start of waywardness or rebellion usually develops when there is a rift between the parent and the teenager. We may not realize the negative impact of leaving them under the care of someone else who might have different values than us, until the first negative influence surfaces. Parents cannot demand absolute obedience without the foundation of unconditional love. Rebellion develops when there is just law without explanation or love. The preteen/teenager by then will be greatly influenced by the strongest voice in their lives (e.g. social media, friends). It is often too late when we finally realize that no matter how much money we have earned, the position we hold in the corporate world will not be able to help us restore the strained relationship that we have with our child. We have prioritized wrongly.
Consider the following:
1) Have we taken the time to celebrate our children’s major milestones in life?
2) Have we taken the time to build a foundation of unconditional love into the lives of our children?
3) Have our actions been telling them that they are less important than our career and money?
If the answer to any of the above is “no”, then we have prioritized wrongly. It would be unwise to continue down the track that would lead us further apart in our relationship with our children. Let us prioritize correctly, God – first, family – second, career based on God’s given task- third , and the rest should follow.
Sermon Series: Year End (2020)
