Parental Advice: Children's Social Lives Versus Their Spiritual Lives

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The church is our Mother. The church is also the mother of your children. Raising your child within the church is the best thing parents can do. No one can doubt that avid participation by children in church services and activities are extremely important, but we have to understand that as parents, you are implementing the standards for actions and behaviors that your children will exhibit in the future. For example, many children are today are involved in sports and social organizations. These activities and clubs demand time and effort out of your child. Occasionally we hear from the young children after the Divine Liturgy a request that they need to leave quickly to make sure they are not late for practice or for an important game they have. While, childrens involvement in sports is very important for their physical health, church is certainly important for their spiritual health and there is a priority for all things.

As a child, you look forward to the things that are fun. For many children developmentally, the priority is fun and conceptualization of church is continuing to grow and must be continually emphasized and taught just as is safety. A parent does not want a child hurt therefore they demand safety measures such as wearing seat belts in cars. The same standards should hold true for them in attending church. It is safe guarding them for Heaven. While many children would rather go out and play all day they must be taught about the church and that attendance is expected as well as certain behaviors, similar to attending school. When they are given an opportunity to do something at the same time as church, such as having to be at a practice or a game, church should take priority, and the life-long pattern of attending church will be firmly established from their youth.

We should never indirectly tell a child that maybe there are certain things out there that are so important that we should miss church for. When these children get older, they begin to implement this type of thinking to many "important" things. The biggest of all is school. Especially in the college level, missing church to study should not become common. This puts more emphasis on worldly things than it does heavenly. There are many more hours in the day to study than those we spend formally in church worship.

When young children are taught at a very early age to love the church, they grow up with a strong foundation. Many activities that children are a part of may be considered important to socially grow in such a way as to be able to communicate and get along with all different types of people. But, the rule has to be set that absolutely no activity can ever come in the way of church appointed times. When this type of foundation is set they will implement this in their own lives as they get older.

We have to understand that the world is pretty attractive. So many things of this world can attract even the most spiritual of us, but what about those who arent so spiritually strong? The world most certainly can trick them into thinking that maybe church is not so important. Remember, the Devil will start working on children at the earliest stages possible. We have to understand as parents that this is inevitable, and we have to do all we can to engrave the church in our childrens hearts and souls, so that they implant the church in their hearts, and also so we can raise our future church leaders.

May we as parents learn that nothing is more important out there than church. And that by putting this standard within our children with love and care, we can rest assured that they will make this important decision for themselves when they get older. Although they might not understand it at first, putting this foundation in their hearts will show them how important it really is.

May the Lord bless our young ones, and also bless you as parents who strive to raise children of God in a world overcome by the Devil. May God Bless You, Your Children, and Your Household. Amen.

Commentary written by Joseph Moussa