Parenting Under PressureSýnishorn

Raising Successful Kids 

“Sorry, Buddy, but you’re not going anywhere until you study for your test.”

My son looked crushed, but I was sure I was making the right call.

“Don’t worry,” I told him. “You can go to youth group next week.”

The pressure to raise successful children can be so strong that all family decisions revolve around it. Parents select houses based on school district ranking. They sign their children up for sports and music lessons and push them into volunteer activities that would look good on a college application.

While a good education and career are certainly important, according to Jesus, they are not most important. In Matthew 16:25-26, Jesus tells His followers that their eternal destiny, their souls, are far more important than any earthly success.

Sometimes in the midst of all of the pressure to raise our children to be successful, we can lose sight of this truth. I know I did. When I forced my son to miss youth group at our church so that he could spend more time studying, I was essentially teaching him to prioritize schoolwork over God.

Without realizing it, I was encouraging him to pursue a faulty definition of success.

In Jesus’ economy, my son’s spiritual condition is far more important than his level of education or eventual career.

As a parent, I needed to learn to shift my focus. Instead of just worrying about his grades, I needed to also start thinking about his spiritual development. Has my son truly submitted his life to following Jesus? Is he growing in his faith? Is he developing a heart for serving others? If so, then he is successful, no matter what grade he gets on his next math test.

Which definition of success are you teaching your child to pursue? What are you doing to teach biblical truth to your children? What are you doing to build godly character?

Pray that God helps you to modify your definition of success in parenting to focus more on your child’s soul than on their education and future career.

For more information read, “How to Succeed the Biblical Way” on FamilyLife.com.