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What went wrong?
Im really wasnt sure what to title this post
But I was just wondering, if a person's parents raised them well, and since their early childhood, raised them in the fear of God and planted the love of God inside their hearts, and taught them to always walk in God's ways and to go to church..etc. Then why is it then sometimes when children grow older, they start to drift away from all that, and to choose not to walk in God's ways and just start to love the world more than God....i mean what goes wrong??
Why is it that some people, like the martyrs, offered their own lives for Christ, while other people dont even want to open their Bible or are too lazy to. Some people prayed day and night; like St. Bishoy even tied chains to his hair so that he wouldnt waste anytime sleeping, but everytime his head went down to drift in sleep, the chains would pull his hair, so he would wake up and pray; while others are too lazy to even pray.
im just tired of thinking cause i truly dont understand, i mean why do we choose:
darkness over light
following the devil over following jesus
being bad over being good
there is no logic behind these actions...so i really dont know why do we do this
i hope this post doesnt sound too confusing....cause i guess i dont really know what im asking....but it would be great to hear any comments, thanks :)
But I was just wondering, if a person's parents raised them well, and since their early childhood, raised them in the fear of God and planted the love of God inside their hearts, and taught them to always walk in God's ways and to go to church..etc. Then why is it then sometimes when children grow older, they start to drift away from all that, and to choose not to walk in God's ways and just start to love the world more than God....i mean what goes wrong??
Why is it that some people, like the martyrs, offered their own lives for Christ, while other people dont even want to open their Bible or are too lazy to. Some people prayed day and night; like St. Bishoy even tied chains to his hair so that he wouldnt waste anytime sleeping, but everytime his head went down to drift in sleep, the chains would pull his hair, so he would wake up and pray; while others are too lazy to even pray.
im just tired of thinking cause i truly dont understand, i mean why do we choose:
darkness over light
following the devil over following jesus
being bad over being good
there is no logic behind these actions...so i really dont know why do we do this
i hope this post doesnt sound too confusing....cause i guess i dont really know what im asking....but it would be great to hear any comments, thanks :)
Comments
There is a world of a difference between transformation and complete regeneration. We hear of men constantly attempting to transform their hearts to the better good, but so seldom do we hear of men who strive to regenerate their heart to embrace that good. There can be hearts that choose to follow the moral law, but only by the consummate expression of Christ Himself can there be a heart that wants to follow the moral law.
Christianity is, thus, not a set of values which men are trained to follow or to disavow....it is the very walk with the person of Christ to the effect of a spiritual substitution of one's own heart with the very heart of God Himself. A child can be taught moral values from a very young age; even Christian values; but only through the Spirit of Christ can we find the imbued desire to fulfill those values.
God bless you.
Your question is very important and valid, I think it can be due to two reasons:,
1- Although you mentioned that the parents raised their children in a Christian home and taught them the fear of God, yet they may have not been a good example to them. I mean they take them every week to the Church but themselves are not showing them the love of God by loving them, treating them with respect , honouring their rights and showing them in practical way how to behave in every situation. Their Christianity is an academic one not by example. For example they may tell them do not lie but they lie all the time in their life. The child understands and keeps all that in his mind, but because he/she is young and can’t disobey parents, when grew up he/she revolts against all what the parents taught him/her.
2- In the Parable of the Sower of the Seeds, St. Matthew chapter 13, “ some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them.
5: Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they had not much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil,
6: but when the sun rose they were scorched; and since they had no root they withered away.
7: Other seeds fell upon thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them.
8: Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
9: He who has ears, let him hear."
The human hearts are represented in this Parable by different quality, some are obedient and some are not.
But the good thing is that the Grace of God works abundantly beyond we can ask or imagine.
The way I can understand this complex paradigm is by believing fully that one has to truly LOVE our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ with their entire heart. One cannot mime the actions of their parents if they do not see independently the need to have a spiritual relationship with God.
The establishment and resources are paved when you do have devoted Christian parents but that is not enough for a child to become close to God. Even if the parents have been a good example to them that does not essentially mean that the children will be good Church going kids who love God unconditionally.
There are many elements to why people are the way they are and part is the environment, but it is also the culture, society, tradition, values, and norms. Children especially during the “teenage” years are more influenced by their friends then they are by their parents. Therefore, it is the parents responsibility and duty to monitor their children’s friends because even though they might be raised well in the home, as soon as they walk out they can rebel against their parents and do the exact opposite. Also they might be easily influenced and give in to peer pressure for a number of reasons.
Therefore, it is not simply enough to read the bible to the child, or take them to church every Sunday, or do the aforementioned lists of criteria that parents are responsible for doing. Having a close relationship with the child is fundamental and that is how the parents will teach the child that God is love and that they must have a close relationship with Him. If the child has this establishment early in his/her childhood then when they grow up they will be more zealous about the church then their parents even.
In His Name
I have to agree with what Safaa said...there is no example given...at least most of our parents..they can talk the talk but they never walk the walk (i think that's how it goes)...
Well if you are raised in a church and a good Christian home, but outside of your home, you see a lot of contradiction between the culture you should be "living" and the culture that is there for you....then you definetly tend to go with the easiest of them...which is what's there for you.
Keep on mind also that most of our parents are strict. We may not rebel against Christ himself...but we will rebel against our parents...and if our parents taught us the Love of Christ...we will go against that too...since it's "their" teachings...not "ours."
You know what you tend to notice in these situations of rebelling is that the child who rebelled will grow up being an exact copy of the parent they rebelled against, which means that people learn by experience. If you just leave people to experience life a bit by bit, you will see that they will go back to Christ's love and will experince how great it is to follow Him instead of following the bad.
love lots,
CopticChica21
sorry if repetitive.[/sub]
the love they planted in their hearts for god probably landed with the thorns..
where their words were planted in the ground and when they grew up...the thorns choked them..the same with the children...it was only a matter of time..where the unseek future of the ground came out when the children grew up...
do u get me!!!
wow that was a good example...i dont give alot of them ;D
itz my first go at one of these things so sorry if it doesnt turn out right..
i dont think what we do really reflects what our parents told us when we were young. our parents can only teach us whats right or wrong. we decide wether we wonna do the right thing. and i dont necessarily think itz their actionz either. yu cant blame yur parents for yur mistakes, coz yu shud know the difference between right and wrong and yur capable of making yur own descisions.
God gave us our free will so that we ourselves can choose our own path and wether we wonna follow Him or not. we do the wrong thing sometimes because satan tempts us, and we're only human. but as christians, we should be able to pick ourselves up again, repent and confess and have communion. that is what we will be judged on. Some people put up a fight and some dont. they just give up. they do it because they dont know what they're giving up, to gain a wider path in their short life on earth. they need our prayerz so God can open their eyes to the light.
i have no idea if all that came out right but hopefully you understand what I'm trying to say.
GBU
Not if we repent right?