Day Nine Forty Days of Focus: Relationships

Have you ever seen what Roundup does to weeds? Lush, green plants can wilt and become dry, brown relics in a matter of hours. This is what hypocrisy does to parenting. If you want your kids to hate everything you stand for, give them a healthy dose of hypocrisy every day. Hypocrisy is when we say we believe one thing and show that we believe another thing. Christian parents do it all the time. When we pray for others and then treat them badly or when we gossip about people or show anger towards them, our kids have a front row seat. They begin to see these traits in us even before they learn to talk. By the time they are teenagers they know more about us than we know about ourselves. They've been watching. So, how do you neutralize hypocrisy? Keep it real. Own your stuff. God keeps it real with you and asks you to own your stuff. Just do the same thing with your kids. They want to see a real example of a life view that works. If they see you overcome bad habits, help the hurting, forgive those who hurt you and show up when you don't want to they will be convinced that you believe in something that is real and good. Your one example is worth a bucket full of your words. They will believe what they see you do, not what they hear you say. Nobody likes a hypocrite, especially your own kids.