Generational Blessings. Generational Poverty.

Generational Spiritual Blessings

God gave kids their parents to teach them how to grow up and glorify Him with their talents, lives and work. Parents are designed to teach their children the Bible and how to apply God's word in all aspects of their lives. As parents and children apply God's word to daily life choices, they start to reflect the purpose that God created them for: They start to reflect the glory of God's character in their daily lives. They enjoy a vibrant relationship with God through Jesus Christ. 

Children learn how to make life choices from their parents. One pair of parents making healthy, godly choices will create a family culture. That family culture will change behaviors two to three generations later. Biblical, generational parenting builds another layer of godly life habits with each successive generation.

Culture runs deeper than education because it is learned from birth. It takes a concerted effort to replace one's culture with educated choices. Christian parenting combines Biblical family culture with the daily education in applying God's truth to life choices, creating a powerful momentum.

Generational Poverty

Physical poverty is not a sin, but it is difficult to escape from when it becomes generational. Poverty can create a feeling of worthlessness and fatalism. Generational poverty can also be difficult to escape because of inequitable social systems. For example, it might be hard to develop the level of hard and soft skills necessary to get a good job because your neighborhood school is underfunded and understaffed.

Within an environment of inequality, fatalism, and extreme poverty, the family culture can break down and contribute to generational spiritual and physical poverty. It's possible for parents to tear their family apart by their choices. Many times, these parents make these choices in an effort to bring good to their children. Instead, they further cement generational poverty into their prodigy.

Shattered Families
Why would a mother leave her 5-month old baby with an aunt and move away to Dubai? Why would a father leave his two sons with their mother and move to another city to work a part-time job? Why would a mother invest the best years of her life to raise another families' children, when her children are raising themselves? What happens to their children? What will happen to their grandchildren? One thing that I've noticed living here in the Philippines is the significant amount of children without a nuclear family. Some of the effects are broken identities, sexual abuse, emotional detachment, and minimal education. Who will stand in the gap for these kids? Who will teach them a Biblical worldview, and stop the cycle?

---

Go Make Disciples.
​Teach Them To Obey My Commandments.

Mature Christians from all walks of life must enter into the lives of people living in poverty with the life-giving truths of Jesus. Why? Because that is how you make disciples. It takes being there to model and teach people how to think like Jesus in all circumstances. It takes Biblical teaching and discipleship to reverse the generational culture of ungodly choices. Through discipleship, parents start applying God's truths to their daily situations. Parents stop leaving their children because they learn that God commands parents to raise the next generation of Christians. Economic and relational problems become manageable when God's rules are applied in families and communities. This is happening for families living in impoverished communities. They are raising their children in the Lord, modeling how to apply God's truth daily.

Christian schools, children's ministries, and churches are all needed to stand in the gap with communities that are struggling with generational, poverty. Discipleship must include children, young people, as well as parents and grandparents. This takes a variety of mature Christians who bring talents and giftings.

Making disciples is a strenuous journey, but it is the only way that I see to bring generational hope through Jesus Christ to people who live without hope.