Franklin Graham, Phil Robertson Share How to Raise Godly Kids
By Movieguide® Contributor
Franklin Graham and Phil Robertson met with Kirk Cameron to discuss how to raise God-fearing children in today’s society.
Growing up with Billy Graham as his father, it is no surprise that Franklin Graham had a strong Christian upbringing. He had many faith-filled conversations with his father, but the most important practice was daily devotionals.
“We had devotions before we went to school. Now, when I say devotions, my mother or father would read a passage of scripture and lead in prayer, and then we’d go to school,” Graham explained. “That evening, we’d have a longer devotion, and they’d take a passage of scripture and read it and then we, as a family, they’d ask us questions.”
“We did that seven days a week, and I would encourage parents to pray with your children, read scripture to your children, discuss it with your children. It doesn’t have to be long,” he continued. “So, in the morning, we’re all, you know, kind of rushed to go out the door [or] go to school, and so devotions was, you know, four or five minutes; in the evening, it was 20 minutes, but my parents never made it so long that we just got bored.”
Not only do daily devotions as a family help kids, but they also help the parents make time for God and connect with Him.
“If you hide God’s word in your heart, when your children, or for us, go through the storms of life, having that anchor to hang on to [is crucial], and that’s the word of God,” Graham said.
Robertson agreed that it is the parent’s role to teach their children to follow God’s way, and often, that means rebuking them when they stray from the teachings of the Bible.
“All scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching [and] rebuking,” Robertson said. “Take the scriptures and teach them. Take the scriptures and rebuke them: ‘Nope, you’re going in the wrong direction.’ They’re about 10 or 5, you say, ‘Nope, come back here.’”
“When that gets out of whack, you end up with what you now have,” he continued. “[But] if you keep that in front of them all the time, they won’t depart from [it].”
Robertson also reiterated Proverbs 22:6, where the Bible explains that if you teach children the way that is right, they will not depart from it when they are older. Working within rehab ministry, Robertson has seen firsthand how difficult it is to help those already enraptured in the ways of the world embrace Christ’s teachings.
“All the ones we work with in the rehabs and prisons, when I’m seeing these 20 year olds, it is a tough call for me to say, ‘I’ve been down the road you’re currently on. I’ve been on that road, it’s a road that leads to nowhere,’” Robertson said.
“All those 20-year-olds we’re talking about—it’s a tough sale to get them to turn,” he added. “We continue to try, and for everyone that makes it out of there, we’re like, ‘Woo! That one there makes it.’ But most of them—they’re slaves to the flesh, and you can’t get them off of it.”
Only through Christ’s teaching can we be saved from the trappings of sin. Raising your children in the Word is the best way to help them form a genuine relationship with Christ and become God-fearing men and women.
Movieguide® previously reported:
With the flood of mass media of entertainment, parents need help educating the hearts and minds of their children to be media-wise.
According to Cornell University, 9 out of 10 children abandon the values of their parents. According to USA Today, 83% of the youth leave the church, and 80% of the parents are very worried about their children and the mass media of entertainment’s influence on them.
Recently, USA Today noted that 70% of Americans were unable to name the Ten Commandments. In a culture where physical health is a higher priority than spiritual vitality, another recent survey found that more Americans are familiar with the specific ingredients in a McDonald’s hamburger than know the individual commands that comprise the Ten Commandments.
Many Christian parents are concerned about the influence of media violence on their children, but many of those who are concerned don’t know what to do about the problem. The good news is that there are effective ways to teach your children to be media-wise.
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