Thursday, September 24, 2015

September 25, 2015

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates.” Deuteronomy 6:4-9

If Raising Home Run Kids was easy there would be a lot of them and our culture would be on an upswing. That doesn’t seem to be the case.

As I mentioned Sunday, raising kids is a bit of a misnomer because we our end game is to raise healthy adults. It takes healthy adults with an intentional plan for raising up the next generation of healthy adults.

There are three virtues that need to be trained into Home Run Kids. Yesterday I dealt with the first one, honesty. Today I comment on the second one; thankfulness.

Darling adorable little newborns enter the world completely and utterly self-centered. Growing larger and older does nothing to curb that tendency. Selfishness must be disciplined out of the nature of each child. There are a number of reasons selfishness must be confronted in a child.

Selfishness leads to ingratitude. Ungrateful people are unhappy, unsatisfied and discontented people. That is not Home Run Kid Material. That is home to third base runner material.

Selfishness leads to inconsiderate kids. When a kid is primarily centered on his own interests, concerns and desires he has little left for others. This is not Home Run Kid material.

Selfishness leads to impatient kids. Self-centered kids tend to be self-indulgent kids who want what they want and they want it now. This kid will never make it out of the dugout.

Selfishness leads to impulsive kids. Self-centered kids are not into delayed gratification. They will fall prey to being manipulated into make emotional decisions. That’s not a winning formula for life.

If you want to raise a Home Run Kid, teach him to be thankful. The key to overcoming selfishness is to lead him to a personal relationship with Christ. Becoming a Christian demands humility and repentance. One of the certain signs of a true believer is gratitude. How else can you respond to the amazing grace of God?

Those who would Raise Home Run Kids should also teach their kid to say, “Thank you” to every kindness shown to them.

In addition to saying, “Thank you” Home Run Kids should be taught to send “thank you” notes for every gift or kindness shown to them.

Home Run Kids are grateful kids, kids who have connected at home plate and have rounded first base!

Coach ‘em up parents!

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