Are you happy with the choices your children have made when it comes to friends? Can you influence those decisions?
Mark Harper, in an article for church leaders.com, writes at some point our children will begin to make their own choices about who their friends are.
You will not always be there to make the choice for them.
Wisdom dictates that we teach our kids how to hear the voice of God concerning their friendship choices.
Does God speak to kids about who their friends are? Harper says yes and believes the most frequent way God speaks to all of us is through the Holy Spirit.
He describes the inward witness of the holy spirit as something like an impression.
It’s a red light or a green light on the inside.
Here’s what Harper tells his children:
- Locate an image of a traffic light to use as a power point.
- Ask your children to read Romans 8:16…“The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God.”
- Then tell them in different situations when they meet people, to allow the witness or the impulse direct them to who they should and should not spend time with.
The impression might come when someone they meet tells an off-color joke or talks about the movies they watch or the books they read. The impression they receive from the Holy Spirit will be positive or negative. They should follow that leading.
Harper believes that other than the decision to receive Christ, the choices our kids make about friends are arguably the most important decisions they will make.
Help them make the right ones.