Have you ever bought an item for years and then the company suddenly repackaged it? Often it’s because the company wants consumers to view their product differently. They know they can often change the way a product is packaged and consumers will view the product differently – even if the product itself has not changed at all.
One of the most dangerous things people do is try to repackage God. Studies have shown our brains are wired in such a way that we try to make God fit into the image we want to have of Him – whether or not it even remotely resembles who God really is and what He truly wants from us. Your kids – just like the rest of us – will be susceptible to this tendency unless you prepare them.
The problem with your kids repackaging God into their image of Him is twofold. First, this new image they have created of God may not resemble God at all. Secondly, they may be so focused on shaping God into the image they want to have of Him, they forget to reflect God’s true image – which they have now possibly altered to the point that they are merely reflecting themselves to the world – not God.
After my last dental appointment, my hygienist gave me a free toothbrush, toothpaste and floss. A recent stay at a hotel and they wanted us to take the little soap and shampoo in the room. A friend gave me a decorative soap that has been sitting in its original wrapper in a drawer for months. Sound familiar?
If you minister to people and listen to their stories for very long, you will discover there are many people whose lives were shattered by their parents’ divorce. For many, the pain is still so real you can almost touch it – even years later. The longer I live, the more I agree one of the most important gifts parents can give their children is for their own marriage to be strong.
by Sheila Wray Gregoire may just give you the help you need to change the dynamic in your marriage.
Parenting books and articles are full of lists of things to do to be a great parent. The assumption is that if you can check everything off of the list, you will have children who grow into becoming wonderful, successful adults. Christian publications are not immune either, as you can see by all of the tips in this blog over the years.
It doesn’t really matter if you are reading this post the day it went on the website or days, months or even years later. The world is filled with evil and lots of people who are more than willing to act in incredibly evil ways. Sometimes, they conduct their evil under the pretense of it being what God wanted them to do.