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The second thing I want to address is making serving God a chore. "Of course I wouldn't make serving God a chore," you say!! Well, you just might be but you don't realize it! Let me ask you this: Do you make your kids read their Bible and pray? Come on now. Be honest. I can see their chore list now, taped to the back of their door. It looks something like this, I'll bet:

Chore List

1. Make your bed.
2. Clean your room.
3. Read your Bible.
4. Pray.
5. Brush your teeth....

Is this right? I don't think so. Why not? Surely it's not wrong for me to teach my kids to have personal devotions, is it? Of course not! I'm not saying that! But look at what you're doing! You have made Bible reading and praying a chore!! You have put it on the same level as cleaning your room and brushing your teeth. Now as adults, we don't necessarily mind cleaning our room. If you are like me, you enjoy brushing your teeth. But to a kid, these are hated chores and necessary evils in their life. And look where you stuck their Bible reading. Right in the middle of these!! Is that a good idea? No. Here is why I say this.

Again, you are trying to make your children spiritual. Nowhere in the Bible does it say reading your Bible and praying makes you spiritual. I have seen convicts in maximum security prisons doing it all day long!! Read Galatians 5:22, 23 sometime. These are the fruits of the Spirit. Reading your Bible and praying is not in there!! Am I against reading and prayer? Of course not. Am I against forcing your kids to do these every day if they don't have the desire to? I sure am.

I know I am going to be branded as a heretic, but that is fine. I had to read 4 chapters a day in my Bible and pray every day as a child, and I can tell you from personal experience that it was not the best avenue for me. Here is why:

I loved to read. I would read literally stacks of books every week. I enjoyed it. I also enjoyed reading my Bible. But when it became a chore, (I had a list on my door like the one above) somehow it lost it's excitement. Now, I wasn't reading my Bible because I wanted to hear from God or get food for the day. Now I was reading it because I had to. It took a whole new perspective for me. And to this day, I cringe when somebody sees me reading my Bible because I used to WANT to be seen so I could go outside and play!!

I still feel like a showoff when people see me having my personal devotions, and I hate it when the kids run tell Grace that I am praying. I'm not doing it for them, or for their benefit. I am doing it because I want to and I need to.

If your kids ever fall in love with Jesus, they won't have to be forced to have devotions. But until then, you are not accomplishing anything, except making them resent you and the Word of God. Take it from someone who has been there and done that. Encourage it, but don't force it.

- Look for part three next month..

Stacey Shiflett
Missionary, South Africa -