We live in a cruel society. Everyone seems to have a negative opinion about something. And the media seems to feed off negativity. People are criticized for their looks, the way they dress, opinions, intelligence and lack of.
Bullying seems to be rampant. It seems like almost weekly, we hear about a child who doesn’t want to live due to excessive meanness. It seems that everyone has a low self-esteem.
And when we are bullied or excessively teased, we feel rejected and not loved.
Sometimes something as insignificant as watching TV or reading a magazine can lead to feelings of low self-worth. All the beautiful, sexy, thin, muscular and AIRBRUSHED people who are overly made up can make your child believe that they aren’t good enough, will never be pretty nor handsome or never have those six-pack abs. And before long,they start believing all the lies that are thrown in their face. And the sweet, positive child becomes an angry, negative, hurting adolescent.
How about school? What if your child is not a math whiz or not athletic? What if he isn’t “popular”? What if she doesn’t have a boyfriend? Those things can cause your child to feel unworthy.
Love and acceptance is one of the most basic of all human needs. We can do without a lot, but not love and acceptance. Not feeling loved can have devastating consequences on our children. It has a way of crippling a person; it robs them of their basic will to live.
But what does God say about us? Does he love and accept us?
For God so loved the world that He gave His only son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. John 3:16
Wow, that familiar verse is so powerful. God loves us more than we can imagine. He gave his only son for our mistakes and bad deeds.
Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness… Genesis 1:26
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139:14
…But we have the mind of Christ. 1Corinthians 2:16
That alone gives an individual no right to judge, be-little or bully our children. Think about that a minute, YOUR CHILD IS CREATED IN THE IMAGE OF THE ALMIGHTY GOD!
But what if they don’t feel like it he loves and accepts them? What if they don’t have that inner confidence to believe that they are fearfully and wonderfully made? What if they believe God created everyone else in his image, but for some reason they don’t believe he created them that way. Remember prayer is the catalyst that can change feelings of rejection and self-loathing.
What are we as parents to do? First off, we need to pray that our children feel loved and accepted by God at an early age.
Jeremiah 31:3 says, “I have loved you with an everlasting love”. So add their name to that verse and ask God to help them feel loved with an everlasting love.
Sometimes our children don’t feel we love them. This can be caused by them believing the lies of the deceiver even though we love them with all our being. Maybe they remember something we said in anger that we shouldn’t have or maybe they misinterpreted our words or actions. We as parents make mistakes and at times we hurt our children. If that is the case, pray to God and tell him that you do love your children and ask him to penetrate their hearts with His love. Ask God to forgive you, if needed, and ask your child to forgive you. If you feel that you have hurt your child, you will need to reassure him and it may take a while to undo the effect of your words; however, God is a big God and there is no condemnation is those who believe in Him (Romans 8:1). And God can mend your child’s broken heart.
So my friend, take heart. Your child is loved and accepted by God and
“If God is for us, who can be against us.” Romans 8:1
Keep praying and believing.
Pour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord. Lift your hands toward Him for the life of your young children. Lamentations 2:19