Who Are You Parenting For? A Coming & Going Blog

Written By: Joe Crabb

|

January 29, 2023

Those who know me know when football season rolls around, I live and breathe Packer football. I’m not from Green Bay, but around eight years old, I was introduced to the game of football, and each Sunday, I loved watching Brett Favre and Reggie White play. As time went on, I learned more about Reggie White’s story, his faith in God, and how he lived that out on and off the field. Plus, the team is owned by the community; how could you not love that? Add that to winning a few Super Bowls over the years, and it has made the team easy to love — for me, at least.

Now, I’m more Uncle Rico than NFL QB, but there must be something exhilarating about running out of the tunnel and hearing an entire stadium cheering for you. Those days when the game is won must be the highest of highs. Yet those feelings are reserved for only half of those on the field the day. The other half? They often get left with the lowest of lows, endless critique, ridicule, discouragement, and at times, division with their teammates. Being defeated is defeating.

And as a parent, leading and raising your children can feel a lot like football.

Highs and lows. Cheers and jeers. Victory and defeat.

But the difference between parenting and football is that parenting is not performative. It is a passionate expression and reflection of the love that we have received from our Heavenly Father. God is the only one in the audience that our parenting is for, as all that we do is for His glory.

The idea of parenting for an audience could easily give the connotation of our efforts being based on performance, yet let’s think about the perspective many of us have when we’re sitting in the audience of one of our kid’s athletics/academic competition or other extracurricular activity. When we sit there, we know that what ultimately matters the most to us is not their performance but taking delight in them as they embrace a passion, enjoying the gifts they’ve been blessed with. How we view parenting should be the same.

Our parenting is not about performing well but passionately embracing the gift God has given us with our kids. Remembering the whole reason why we’re able to do so is because of God’s grace and goodness. And our aim is to point our kids to the truth of the Gospel, all to the glory of God. As such, we experience joy as God takes delight in our faithfulness.

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” — Deut. 6:4–9

This truth and how it applies to our lives, especially our parenting, is what we focus on in a recent episode of Coming & Going.  I hope you take the time to listen to it as we address the traps of control, comparison, and isolation that we can easily fall into when parenting. Join us as we examine God’s word and how His truth applies to our lives.

Listen now! ⬇️
Apple: https://apple.co/3WmL2Eh
Google: https://bit.ly/3ZGhq7W
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3iKhkLP

I hope this is an encouragement to you and edifies as you faithfully pursue God in all things. If there’s any way that we can be of help or encouragement to you, then please never hesitate to reach out.

And if you’re looking for more resources about parenting and parenting to an audience of one, we encourage you to check out these resources ⬇️

▶️For more blogs about family and parenting, click here.
▶️The Parent Cue — click here.
▶️Intentional Parenting by Doug & Kathy Fields — click here.