People conceived and brought into life by God don’t make a practice of sin. How could they? God’s seed is deep within them, making them who they are. It’s not in the nature of the God-begotten to practice and parade sin. Here’s how you tell the difference between God’s children and the Devil’s children: The one who won’t practice righteous ways isn’t from God, nor is the one who won’t love brother or sister. A simple test. (1 John 3:9-10 MSG)
This is a difficult verse, but it speaks volumes about the priority of heart change over behavioral change. John is telling us that belief is the essential act required before behavior will change. When we believe and are "born of God", the Holy Spirit comes to reside in us and empowers us to live a life that is free of habitual sin. That's not to say that we will never commit individual sins, but that we will not be trapped in a pattern of behavior characterized by long term, blatant sin.
This speaks to our relationship with our kids, too. We should be concentrating our efforts towards a change of heart, rather than just trying to modify their behavior. When your child asks why you have a certain rule for your family that other families don't have, you should be willing to explain it in a way that demonstrates the way your heart for God directs your behavior. It is easy to say, "Because I said so!" but that doesn't engage your child's heart, it just asks for a certain behavior.
Heart change drives behavioral change
Written by parenting and design
Posted by kachi
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