What is Influencing Your Children?

As a parent one of our responsibilities is to influence our children, but how often do we stop and look at the things influencing us?

The Pilgrims were called Separatists as they wanted to separate from the Church of England. After years of trying to leave England they finally made it to Holland. However once there, they realized that their children were being influenced by the local culture and this greatly concerned them. They knew the dangers on their children being influenced by those who did not have Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

Many of us today just accept what TV, movies and music send our way without checking to see if it is influencing us away from what God’s word says. We don’t want others to think we are different, old fashioned or out of touch with the modern world. We are more influenced by what others think, or what is fashionable in the world than we are by, “thus saith the Lord.”

The Pilgrims reaction to this unwanted influence was quick, decisive and drastic. To increase the Godly influence on the children and eliminate the worldly influence they were willing to do the following.

• Leave their friends, family and surroundings
• Sell all of their possessions
• Stay 66 days in the hold of a ship just 68ft by 22ft
• Go to a land, where almost 90% of the last colony planted had died
• Move to a land where the natives were know to be hostile and kill Europeans
• Move where there were no buildings, houses, stores, doctors or anything else
• Face harsh winters with freezing temperatures while living in small wooden houses
• Face starvation as they could only bring very limited amounts of food
• Leave behind every convenience of civilized society.
• Face years of back breaking work, hardship and isolation
• Never see their family again

The Pilgrims were serious about removing evil influence on their children and themselves. And they were right. Their decision helped start the greatest nation in the history of mankind. Their influence has carried on now for almost 400 years touching and shaping the lives of millions.

We know what the Pilgrims did to limit the world’s influence, and what the reward of their decision was. Question now is what are we as parents willing to do to limit the world’s influence on ourselves and our children, and what kind of reward will we receive?