Over the past few months, it has been undeniable that the world has changed. Covid-19 and recent social justice issues have swept across our nation.
My youngest son asked me this past week, “Dad, what if robbers come to our house or rioters spray paint on our house, what will we do?” (then he proceeded to show me where he had hidden his pocket knife just in case 🙂 )
These are unique times for sure when the youngest among us are asking such questions. But thankfully, as the world gets crazier, we have the opportunity to reassure our children of our love and their safety by making our home the safe place that they crave and deserve.
While there are so many things of concern that could be addressed right now, one of them is what I would call the ‘corona family fallout’. The last few months have been surprisingly revealing on a number of fronts when it comes to the current state of the Christian family. Here are a few things that Corona has exposed in the Christian family: (Thankfully, these are not true for every Christian family, but sadly they are for many. What about your family?)
The Church isn’t as essential as many say it is
According to statistics, nearly half of church families didn’t attend any online services in recent months, and of those that did, only 1 out of 4 watched the services offered by their own church. These numbers ought to be concerning as to the priority (or lack thereof) of the Church in Christian homes. Which begs the question, ‘Is the church necessary for most families, or just nice?’Â
Parents don’t actually consider themselves to be the primary spiritual influencers in their home
Children’s ministries for the most part have been closed in recent months. Online viewership of children’s services is even lower than adult services. On a large scale, children have missed out on a huge chunk of spiritual training from the church. So some questions come to mind… Are families opening the Bible together at home?… Are spiritual issues being discussed and spiritual investments being made?… Has the spiritual well-being of children been given a priority or a back seat in the home?… If parents are truly the primary spiritual influencers of their children, these questions matter.
We aren’t as grace-filled as we often should be
Our family has 7 core values, and our first one is something we try to intentionally prioritize and instill into our children – being grace-filled. This carries over into all areas of family life, from the way we relate to each other, as well as the ways we relate to other people whose opinions differ from ours. As Christians, unity does not require agreement (on non-scriptural issues). But sadly, there is a great lack of unity nowadays, including among Christians (I know I don’t have to tell you this, but all it takes is a quick look on social media). The Biblical command for unity supersedes agreement, and there is no way to do this apart from being grace-filled.
It’s easier to live by fear than by faith
If we’re not careful, it would be very easy for even Christians to live in fear, when God has clearly called us to live by faith. It’s important that we help our family understand what to believe, what not be believe, and where our focus needs to be, especially in times like these. If we saturate our minds with the negative news of the day more than we do the eternal truth of God’s Word, we run the risk of operating out of fear over faith, and leading our children to do the same. We must guard ourselves from leaning more heavily upon our current opinions than we do God’s unchanging truth. (For more thoughts on this, please read… The Power of Being Convinced)
The physical often trumps the spiritual in our mentality
One of the glaring things that current events have revealed about the Christian family is that many parents have forgotten that we are not up against a physical battle, but a spiritual one. And future generations of our children will be the ones who are most greatly affected by the outcome of it. As a result of knowing that, it is important that we are asking the right questions… What is God trying to teach our family through this?… Did God allow this to happen to show us how to better prioritize our family, our time, our resources, etc.?… How does God expect me to lead and grow and prepare my family through times like these?…Â
Maybe God wanted to push us out of our comfort zone in some areas. Maybe we’ve been guilty of thinking, “it’s all political… or it’s all personal“… when maybe it’s actually all spiritual, and our children are in the crosshairs (Ephesians 6:12). As Christians, may we always take on a spiritual mindset towards physical circumstances, and may we lead our children to do the same. They are watching us.
Does your family need to give attention to the ‘corona family fallout’ in any of these 5 areas?
