The United States is a bastion for individual freedoms, like that for personal religion. Yet, in our attempts to balance the separation of church and state, the scales have tipped too far, and it has become en-vogue for parents not to insist or otherwise instill their faith in their children. Pew Research has confirmed this trend–only 35% of American parents feel it is of some importance for their children to have a similar faith to their own (link here).

There have certainly been horror stories of oppressive parenting turning kids away from following in similar faith footsteps. Still, those are like many other stories in our social media age–the exception rather than the norm. Such stories shouldn’t turn parents from our responsibility to instill truth into our children. How impotent must a parent find their own beliefs–whatever they are–if they find it unimportant whether their kids understand the natural and supernatural worlds similarly? 

There are plenty of biblical examples of parenting a child in faith. We can easily infer Abraham’s parental role in ministering to his son, Isaac, given Isaac’s acceptance of his potential sacrifice in Genesis 22. The same could be said for Jephthah’s daughter in Judges 11:36. Naomi takes an adoptive parent role with her daughter-in-law Ruth as Ruth declares her trust in Naomi’s God in Ruth 1:16. Mordecai (eventually) persuades his adoptive daughter, Esther, to use her political position to save the Jews throughout Babylon by trusting in the Lord in her precarious approach to the king.

There’s an even more popular parental story we should address. In 1 Samuel 1, a barren woman, Hannah, is mocked for her inability to conceive children. She prays fervently and regularly, ultimately committing to God that if He blessed her with a son, “I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life.” (1 Samuel 1:11, NIV) God accepted that offer, and Samuel was born. Hannah ultimately dedicated Samuel to the Lord’s service as an apprentice to a priest named Eli.

It is easy to infer how that worked out; Samuel has two biblical books named after him and becomes the prophet who anointed the first two kings of Israel. Hannah’s faith was so strong that God used her lineage to set the course of Israel’s future. Hannah is recorded forever in the Word, partly due to her own faith and partly because she ensured her son believed the same.

Proverbs 22:6 (ESV) tells us, “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” Parents are responsible for guiding our children in the ways they should go and toward what they should believe. If a parent does not instruct their children what truth is, the world will fill that void. However, even when parents do take the spiritual lead, children can still go astray. One biblical example is Samson.

Judges 13 recounts how a righteous but barren couple were visited by a supernatural being and promised a son. This couple was required to specifically dedicate the boy to the Lord as a Nazarite–specially consecrated by the avoidance of alcohol, dead bodies, or cutting their hair (see Numbers 6 for more information on this vow). Despite this dedication, however, Samson goes wayward. I’ve discussed Samson before, but suffice it to say that he makes enough bad choices to wind up imprisoned with his eyes gouged out. Yet, in the end, Samson humbly returns to the Lord and destroys the Philistine leadership through self-sacrifice. Though his path was winding, Samson eventually submitted to the Lord, who promised his birth in the first place.

There are also examples of poor parental spiritual influences, often leading to much larger consequences. As noteworthy as King David’s faith was–having written many psalms and received blessings and miracles throughout his recorded life–it did not seem to be conveyed to his children. His son Absalom revolted against David’s reign but met a gruesome death. Upon David’s death, there is a power struggle between his sons Solomon and Adonijah, with Solomon killing many of his half-brothers. David’s sons had more faith in the sword than in God. Solomon started his reign well by building God’s temple with David’s directions but then built another four times larger for himself. He broke every kingly rule declared in Deuteronomy 17 and bastardized his faith due to the influence of his (many) pagan wives. Solomon’s poor faith sets Israel up for civil war one generation later, leading to apostasy and, ultimately, destruction and enslavement. Clearly, David did not train his children in the ways they should go.

David’s parental failings echo the circular abandonment of faith found throughout the book of Judges, resulting in regular war, enslavement, and death. The priest from earlier, Eli, did not correct his sons, leading to corruption and the death of his lineage. When parents do not train their children in their faith and spiritual disciplines, the severity of consequences ranges from personal hardship to societal dissolution. Just because America guarantees the right to personal belief does not mean parents are relieved of their mentoring duties. If anything, such freedoms stress the importance of the parent’s role more, with no one else to trust with the responsibility.

God the Father guided Jesus during regular prayer and supernatural revelations, such as Jesus’ baptism and the Transfiguration. We, too, must train our children regularly and profoundly. The consequences for not doing so are simply too dire to ignore.

How important is your faith to you? How much do you really believe in it? If you believe that a life uncommitted to Christ ends in eternal separation from God or painful damnation–however that looks to you–isn't faith in Jesus the most important thing we can teach our children? Do not follow the trends of American parents who abdicate their responsibilities to school systems or culture. Instead, take the reins and train your children to follow Jesus to experience the powerful blessings He has in store for both you and them. That is the way you should go, and I pray you do not depart from it.

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