Lies Moms Believe: And the Truth That Sets Them Freeনমুনা

 Mom Lie #3:  My daughter is not at risk like other girls. 

It was tempting to look at my girls when they were tweens and believe the lie that they couldn’t possibly face the same temptations and challenges I encountered when I was their age. (There’s some part of me that has frozen my children in time as innocent toddlers clad in footie pajamas!) Whatever it was, it wasn’t coming into my home!

And truth be told, I was believing a lie:

MOM LIE #3:

“MY DAUGHTER IS NOT AT RISK LIKE OTHER GIRLS.”

Some moms proudly insert the word sheltered to describe their girls. You may have sheltered them, protected them, filled them with Truth, and prayed for them diligently. That does not exempt them from being exposed to lies, believing them, and sinning. If it did, Eve would have never fallen prey.The first woman lived in a world untouched by sin. No woman has ever lived a more sheltered life. There was no Netflix, social media, music, cliques, advertisements, or sin in the Garden of Eden. She walked and talked with a perfect Father who spoke only Truth. And yet, she listened to the first lying voice. And she believed the most cataclysmic lie ever told. How is it that we believe our own daughters are not at risk?

The truth is that your daughter is going to sin. All of us do (Romans 3:23). She is at risk, because humanity is at risk. For that reason, we must be prepared not only to plant Truth into her, but to nurture it with grace when she sins. The story in the Garden models God’s readiness to extend grace. He expected His children to sin, and He was prepared to respond to their fall with two things: comforting conversation and confrontation.

First, God comfortingly converses with them. He pursued them, and called out to them with a question: “Where are you?” For the record, He knew the answer to that. He is God. So, this question demonstrates the communal, interactive nature of godly discipline. Of course, Adam and Eve realized how utterly exposed they were, and they felt embarrassed. Ashamed.

And God knew what they had done, why, and how they felt now. But He gave them the chance to verbalize it before rushing to explain the harsh realities of consequence. He had a conversation with them to help them understand their reaction and shame.

One of the important things about your daughter’s behavior is not just what she has done, but why she has done it. The why is at the root of her belief system.

You may have a good idea why she was mean to her sibling today—she felt overwhelmed and jealous by the attention her little brother was getting at his birthday party. You may understand why she cheated on her reading test—she felt dumb and embarrassed by her recent diagnosis of dyslexia. You may think you know why she lied about having a horse—because she felt insecure when she was talking to new friends.

You may know it.

But she may not.

This is a good opportunity to remind her that Jesus is always there to help her, and will help you both sort out why she did something bad.

Jesus is the standard and original source of what is true about us and about how we should act. He said: “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6)