Rated "PG"

Parental Guidance Required

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Entertainment has it's rating system. “G” is for a “general” audience where anyone can attend, “R” is for “restricted” as we all know and “PG” is for “parental guidance”. Although there is little difference in content between “PG” and “R” maybe the Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (MPAA) has an idea which should be used in all aspects of raising our children! All children must have “Parental Guidance”. Life is all “PG”.
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Proverbs 22:6 “Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.”
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This verse is wisdom. Most parents pay no heed to what it says, but if they did the world would be a much better place and children would grow into believing, conscientious, mature adults.
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First off we need to look at to whom this verse is assigning responsibility: PARENTS! It's a parents job to rear the child, not the teacher's nor the television. God expects parents to be parents. As a parent we have certain responsibilities. The father is the spiritual leader of the family and the wife is his help-mate (feminists want to confuse you on this issue). It takes two to bring children up and it must be done in unity and harmony. A favorite tactic of a disobedient child is to divide the parents and conquer, and it works! Children don't even have to plan this tactic. They are born with rebellion in their hearts. It's parents' jobs to know the Bible, accept their role and apply God's Word.
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Next, we need to look at to whom the verse refers: CHILDREN. Although there are many adult “children” out there, that's because parents never applied Psalm 22:6. “Adult children” actually means children of legal age, but I'm referring to those who are immature adults. They aren't where they should be in spiritual and psychological development. This verse refers to “minor children”, those still impressionable. If we wait until a child is already developed, then we've waited too long! All your offspring are children. However, “minor children” are those being under “legal age”. Legal age has varied over the years, by nationality and even by state. However, woman are often of legal age at 18 and men at 21 years old. (Yes, you are often a minor although you're fighting our wars for us).
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I've often heard people say “I'm not going to take my children to church. I'm going to let them wait until they're adults so they can decide for themselves.” If you think that way, you just decided for them! Do good parents use that reasoning toward other issues? No! We would never ever keep a child out of school until they're adults so they can decide their educational goals for themselves. Some adults who think in this manner are just plain ignorant and have “bad thinking”. It's just not rational thinking!
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A family in the news right now are letting their own kids decide their own chosen gender. Guess what? They won't have a boy who chooses to be a boy or even a boy who chooses to be a girl. They'll end up with a confused child who's parents abused them by not directing them toward their biological identity. The resultant child will be a spiritual and psychological mess and it will be the fault of the parents.
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As a parent you are to direct proper gender roles for your children. Boys are to be treated as masculine and girls as feminine. If you have a boy who likes to play with dolls or wear nail polish, your job is to redirect them to proper roles. They may not just “grow out of it”. The Bible is very clear that men shall be men and women shall be women. (Yes, God could have helped Chasity Bono. You can change her appearance, but she'll always be a confused woman).
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Genesis (ESV) 1:27 “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”
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God created discreet sexes. There are no in-betweens or multiple choice selections. You are what you are and so to speak “called anything else, a rose is till a rose” (a paraphrase of Gertrude Stein's “"Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose." ). God also assigned familial responsibilities. Again, feminists don't like that and seem to think that God was confused or in the wrong, but that's what God intended!
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1 Peter (NIV) 3:1 “Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, 2 when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. 3 Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. 4 Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.“
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There are three issues of significance to the family in these verses:
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Husbands are the head of the family and wives submit. This only works if the Word of God is used because Satan, left unconstrained, will confound this relationship.
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Wives do have a say with the husbands. Wives are to monitor the life of the husband and encourage him (“win over”) if he deviates from God's Word.
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Women should be pure and reverent. That's where their beauty lies. Although the Bible tells us that women should dress as women and men as men, a wife is told that their beauty is inward, not in their “holiday decorations” hanging all over her body!)
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This verse is specific, but must be applied in general:
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Deuteronomy (ESV) 22:5 “A woman shall not wear a man's garment, nor shall a man put on a woman's cloak, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord your God.”
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In short ...bring up your boys to be men and your girls to be women. Guide them in the appropriate behavior and dress which God and society (God first, because society allows anything when they turn from God) has set for for their gender. Never let them do transgender activities even as babies!
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The next part of Psalms 22:6 says “ on the way they should go”. What is that guide?
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2 Timothy (KJV) 3:16 “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:”
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It's scripture, the Word which God gave to the prophets and apostles. It teaches us doctrine (how to think), reproof (what to teach), correction (how to live) and righteousness (our pattern for all the previous ...Jesus). We're to use scripture to teach our children what to believe and how to live. Opinion has no place in the matter because we don't need opinion ...God directs us! A parent should teach a child from scripture. Using a worldly standard is wicked!
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The last part of Psalms 22:6 is “ when they are old they will not turn from it”. Children may rebel for awhile even if you have done what's right. However, if you do bring them up in the way of the Lord, they are more likely to remain in the way of the Lord. The odds are improved! You don't wait until they're old, even pre-teen nor teen. The time is as an infant! If you wait you may be too late! There are just too many other worldly influences ...yes, even Sesame Street!
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Furthermore, when they're old they will know God's will. The odds are increased that if they rebel, as they mature (if they do) they will know their roots. They'll know what God wants and will listen to the Spirit. There's no “promise” that a prodigal son will return, but God does tell you that if you teach scripture to a child they'll keep it in their their heart. That sure increases the odds that the rebels will submit and I like that! (Watch out kids)!
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And again “Yes, Virginia, there is an instruction manual for your kids!” It's the Bible … Scripture. God tells you how to set the example and how to teach! Wait a minute! Did I say “set the example”. That's where we as parents fall short. Even a “mild” (sic) sin is equal to a “blatant” (sic) sin in a child's eyes (and God's). As a parent, you must be “above reproach” in your own actions, just as the overseer of the church was to be in the following:
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1 Timothy (NIV) 3:2 “Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,”
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The first step in “ Start children off on the way they should go” is going that way yourself! You are to be beyond reproach (blameless), faithful (devoted to your wife), temperate (sober-minded), self-controlled (responsible actions and behaviors), respectable (moral conduct), hospitable (loving) and a teacher (advise and correction). There's your “Parental Guide” for your children. Now just go do it!