July 28, 2024
Parents have been charged to be exemplary role models to their children, serving as the first and most important examples in their lives, so they can grow into responsible, God-fearing adults.
This was stated by Pastor Tunde Mabinuori, the proprietor of Rhema Chapel International College (RECICO), during the thanksgiving service held for the 2024 graduating students of RECICO at the church auditorium in Oluyole, Ibadan.
In his sermon titled “Proper Parenting,” using Genesis 5:1-3 as the scriptural reference, Pastor Mabinuori emphasised the divine origin of parenting and the significance of parents being the first role models for their children.
“GOD is the first parent. He made humans in His own image. He created us as husband and wife to produce people like us too. Do we really like our children to be like us? The essence of parenting is to reproduce the character of parents in their children,” Pastor Mabinuori declared.
He stressed that children learn more from their parents’ actions than their words, stating, “You are the first model your children see. You are the first primary place for their learning and modelling. It is not only by what you say to your children, but they behave according to who you are, not what you say.”
Defining the true meaning of parenting, Pastor Mabinuori stated, “Parenting is the activities of raising a child. It is a process of supporting the physical, emotional, intellectual, and development of a child to adulthood.
He added, “Parenting is not the fact that you are the biological parents. But it is who raises the children healthily to adulthood.”
He used an analogy to illustrate the impact of parents’ actions on their children, saying, “Imagine parents being arrested in front of their children right in their homes because of wrongdoing; this is a memory the children carry for life.”
“There are children who want to beat up their father for beating their mother. Such children also grow up to be like their parents,” he cautioned.
Pastor Mabinuori urged parents to be good examples and to live according to God’s will. “Be a good example. Be who you want them to be. They can’t afford to see you lie. It injures their soul and psyche. Be a follower and imitator of God. 1 Thessalonians 1:6; 2:15. When your life is according to the will of God, your children have no choice but to follow you,” he said.
He highlighted the necessity of intentional parenting and the risks of leaving children to be influenced by society and social media.
According to him, “Children are not meant to raise themselves, they have to be raised. If you don’t, society, social media, and others will raise them. Don’t leave them at the mercy of celebrities, social media,” he cautioned.
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The cleric emphasised the importance of maintaining close relationships with children and being actively involved in their lives, saying, “Keep your children around you. Even if it has to take them along to the market, let them follow you.”
“A time is coming that your children won’t be around you again. A time is coming that the rooms of your children will be empty because they have moved on. You start missing them later in time. When they grow older, what will they say their parents used to say? Can your children quote you?” he asked.
He stressed the importance of communication and awareness in parenting, telling parents to: “Ask specific questions. Ask what is going on in school and about their friends. Imagine a boy under pressure in the higher institution to join a cult who returns home to talk to his parents, but they have no plan for him.
“Those parents could later see their son being paraded on national TV after he killed a fellow student. A son who was the head of a cult group on campus, a deadly boy, could say his parents didn’t know anything about him. But how will they know when they had no time for their children?” Pastor Mabinuari queried.
He advised parents to hold family meetings and be attentive to their children’s needs and behaviours, saying, “Hold family meetings. An eight-year-old child’s contribution can be very useful. You have to be very sensitive. Be attentive and be observant so that you won’t have a pregnant daughter you are not aware of.
“Don’t let them wear dresses that expose them. Teach them the word of God. If your children ask you to teach them Bible stories, have time for them. Take them to church. Sometimes you take your children to church, and they leave and return when the church is about to close,” he advised.
Addressing the children directly, Pastor Mabinuori emphasised their role in the family dynamic.
He said, according to “Proverbs 3:1-3, your role as a child is to obey your parents. Proverbs 4:20-22. A lot of sacrifices are being made by the parents.”
Drawing an inference from Ephesians 6:1, he said, “Children you need to obey them. Cover the nakedness of your parents, do not expose them. Leviticus 18:7.”
The man of God said, “The misbehaviour of the father is designed by the devil to destroy the future of the child.
“Honour your parents. Deuteronomy 5:16. You need to revere, amplify, and give your parents due regard,” he stated.
He concluded with a reminder of the reciprocal relationship between parents and children, saying according to “1 Corinthians 9:11, parents must reap the fruit of their labour. You need to give back to your parents.
“Our parents should be taken good care of. 1 Timothy 5:4. Parents need to be celebrated. On their birthday, during Christmas, and every other day. Proverbs 31:29. You can’t quantify the labour they go through—they encounter all sorts of attacks, physical and spiritual,” he concluded.
The cleric at the service left a lasting impression on attendees, reinforcing the vital roles of both parents and children in building strong, God-centred families.
