Parenting God’s WaySample

Areas for Successful Parenting: Vocation

God has a plan for each person’s life, and He endows everyone with gifts and talents that will enable that plan to be fulfilled. Your children may exhibit their gifts from a very early age, or they may discover them gradually over time. Either way, as a parent, you can and should help your children find and develop these gifts. While God’s plan doesn’t necessarily limit your child to a single career path, it’s important they make good use of their God-given talents for His glory, whatever work they do. 

God’s gifts are specifically designed for each individual, and He expects us to make wise use of whatever He gives us, investing our resources so that they bear fruit and bring increase for His kingdom. Help your children to discover the gifts and talents God’s entrusted to them. Encourage them to seek His guidance in investing those talents to fulfill His plan for their lives. No financial success or worldly prestige can equal the joy they will feel when they’re using their gifts well and serving God as He intends.

None of us are here to please ourselves. We were created to bring glory to God (Isa. 43:1-7). It’s vital that you teach this simple but critical truth to your children from as early an age as possible. The sooner this principle is woven into their hearts and their thinking, the easier it’ll be for them to discern God’s plan and be open to it. If self-will is allowed to become a habit, resistance to God and the desire to pursue one’s own goals will grow stronger and stronger and be increasingly difficult to overcome. Let the words of Mary be of special guidance to your children: “I am the Lord’s servant […] May your word to me be fulfilled” (Luke 1:38, NIV). Though God’s plan for her life must’ve been somewhat distressing when it was revealed to her, Christ’s mother willingly presented herself as God’s servant and accepted His plan. Your children will learn humility, grace, obedience, and the joy of submission if you help them to live by this principle in every area of their lives. Even more importantly, they’ll bring glory to God by allowing Him to work through them as He wishes—fulfilling His purpose for their lives.

Finally, no matter what occupation they pursue, teach your children to approach work with an attitude of godliness (Col. 3:23). Make sure they understand the importance of having a correct mindset at work. Whether bagging groceries at a local market or drafting state legislation, they’re accountable to God for their daily performance. Working for the Lord, who sees all things, means their work should be characterized by diligence, responsibility, and honesty. If you’ve given your children this biblical instruction, you’ll have provided them with the foundation for success in every professional task they face.

Digging Deeper

1. Have I spent time observing my children’s strengths and provided them with opportunities to develop their God-given talents? Regardless of the state of our resources, what are some creative ways I can help them discover how God has uniquely wired them?

2. Is my child struggling to find his or her path in life? How can we pray and seek God together so that my child will be encouraged about His plan and be built up in hope for the future?

3. Are my children exhibiting the desire to please God in their choice of education and vocation? Or are there signs they may have drifted into self-seeking for mere financial gain or prestige? How can I address this issue and help them to avoid disappointment down the road?