It would be great if we could tell you that just loving your child is enough to help him become the person God wants him to be. But the truth is, we live in a sinful world, and we as Christian parents are not perfect yet.
It is so easy to get caught up in the false values of the world. People without the Lord Jesus spend their time and effort running after beauty, wealth, power and intellect. And if we aren't careful, we could teach our children these false values rather than God's values.
According to the world, Jesus was a loser. He wasn't a landowner or a wealthy businessman. He was never given any honors or awards. He had a simple education. He hung around with blue-collar workers, hookers, outcasts, and losers.
For the last three years of His life He didn't hold a steady job. He never left His own country to travel around the world, and He knew very few celebrities or national leaders. He was arrested and executed for being a fraud and a troublemaker. His friends and family deserted Him, and He was even buried in a borrowed grave.
Do you see how false the values of the world are? The world says Jesus was a loser, but God's Word says He was the greatest Winner Who ever lived. And because He won, we can win, too!
Protected From Evil
During the last few hours before He was crucified, Jesus prayed to His heavenly Father for everyone who would believe on Him. He prayed, "I do not ask that You will take them out of the world, but the You will keep and protect them from the evil [one]" (John 17:15 AMP).
That's the kind of prayer we should pray for our children - not that they be isolated from the world, but that they be protected from evil in the world.
We are all influenced by our culture. We are in the world, but we don't have to be of the world. The world says that because your skin is a different color, or because you don't do as well in school as other kids, or because your clothes aren't as fancy as someone else's, you aren't as good as everybody else.
The world says there is something wrong with you. But Gods says: "I made you. I love you. I know everything there is about you. You are a person of worth to Me. I even died for you."
What God Says is All That Matters
Your children will come under attack from the world, because the world is out to destroy them any way it can. That's why it is so important that they hear the truth about themselves from you, their parent. They have to be taught that it doesn't matter what the world says about them. The thing that matters is what God says about them.
God loves everyone equally. He doesn't look at how much money you have in your pocket. He doesn't care what kind of car you drive or how big you house is. God cares about the kind of person you are on the inside, not the way you look on the outside.
So many of us adults were wounded in our spirits as children, and we are still walking around with these hurts inside us. Maybe someone said cruel things about us or treated us in a mean way. Maybe the kids made fun of us because we were poor. Maybe a teacher told us we weren't very smart. Or maybe our parents said things that were painful or even brutal.
We grew up believing those lies. Because of the things that were said, we think we aren't really as smart or pretty or good as other people. We feel bad about who we are, and if not careful we will pass those bad feelings on to our kids. We will treat them the way we were treated.
The truth is, we are sons and daughters of the King of the universe. We have wealth beyond measure. We have a home made of pure gold and robes of pure white to wear. God thinks so highly of us that He considers us His righteousness. Second Corinthians 5:21 in The New International Version says, "God made him [Jesus] who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."
These are the kinds of things you need to be telling your children. Whether we believe them or not - God's Word says they are true. And as His representative, you need to tell your kids over and over again who they are in Christ Jesus.
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers
Buddy Harrison and his wife, Pat, were co-founders of Faith Christian Fellowship International Church. He served as president of the organization from 1978 until he went home to be with the Lord on November 28, 1998. 
