Today's children are really different from before, that we can say so many negative things about them,

on how they act, how they deal with things, and how they treat people. We complain why they live and
act that way; but looking on these things, aren't these fall on us?

We should always ask ourselves: How do we treat the children? How do we raise them up? Are we
even exerting extra time, effort, and love? As educators, aside from the lessons we teach from the
curriculum, what are we giving them? Do we know the primary things they need in this life? What are
the things we impart to them?

Children are like sponges, they are great absorbers. During their foundational years, they are like a blank
slate wherein you can write everything, you can control what you put in it and correct the wrong things
in it. We have the control over them during their foundational years that is why we have to give them
the primary things they will need in living in this world; the things they will carry eternally. What are
those? The Bible says that in order for Israel to be great and holy people, their children had to grow and
thrive not only physically, but also in God's love, law, wisdom, and grace. We need God in our lives and
so are the children. They should not be excluded in hearing and learning the word of God. We must
remind ourselves that children are never left out in learning the word of the Lord. Deuteronomy 4:10
says "Children were to be immersed in God's teaching from infancy that they too may fear the Lord,
your God as long as you live on the land which you will cross the Jordan to occupy." Being immersed
means that God's teaching must manifest in all areas of a child's life and as early as they are in their
mother's womb, we can already impart God's teaching to them. We can already declare and decree the
promises of God to His children. We can show and recite to them about how God and awesome our God
is, how marvelous His works are, and them the wonders and miracles He has performed so that as they
grow up, they too will fear the Lord. The fear of the Lord is everyone's protection that will hinder the
children to depart or go away from His will. It will help them to live the life God has planned for them.
We can only do all these if we look at the children the way God sees them. We can only lead them to
grow in God's love, law, wisdom, and grace if we deal them according to the ways God. But we must
remember that we cannot impart what we do not have. If we do not have the faith and the fear in the
Lord, then we might be dealing them the wrong way. We might be leading them in a wrong destination.
But if we fear the Lord, then we are living according to His purpose and there, we know that we are
leading the children in the right path, imparting them our lives and living by example.

To live by example means living our life like how Jesus lived His life here on Earth. Many people gave
their best to live according to the standards of this world, to meet the expectations of other people, and
to be great in the eyes of the many, but still suffered and failed in the end. There, we can say that
nothing can really satisfy and meet our heart's needs in this world. For people to live a satisfying life, a
good life that will be a good example to the children, we must live according to God's word, and let the
Holy Spirit lead us in every step of our way.

As educators, our task is not to let the children fall away from the Lord. We sometimes think that it is
impossible to walk upright and be sustained by God forever, but if a child fears the Lord, then it is
possible. And that's the greatest inheritance we can give to the children: for them to know the word of
the Lord and walk according to His will, so that they might stand tall and not fall on whatever things that
would come their way. With this, the children can say that God is enough, He was never not enough.

One of the best fathers and example we could find in the Bible in terms of commanding and leading his
children is Abraham. God said in Genesis 18:19 "For I know him, that he will command his children and
his household after him and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgement." God
blessed and guided Abraham and his family and made it possible for them to live a good life. We could
see that it was Abraham who directed his children, his family, to be god-fearing and to keep the way of
the Lord. It's not the other way around. It was not the children who commanded Abraham on how they
should live their lives. Today, we can see that there are many parents and teachers who always give in to
what the children want. Even when the children are wrong, adults give in to what the children want
because they can't deal with them the right way. They were not able to manage them in their
foundational years that's why it was hard for them to deal or discipline them.

Parents need the Lord in raising the children. There is no any parenting course we could take in order to
become the best parents, but we can be guided by the Holy Spirit. Also, we need to grow in the word of
God so that we can impart God's word to the children. But as educators, we have to deal with children
with different upbringing, different character and attitude. Surely, we will encounter kids who don't
smell nice and do not have proper hygiene and etiquette, and it will be hard for us to give our best
attention, love, and care for them if we will just look at them on our own eyes and capability. It is hard
to deal with a child that you did not raise up especially when the child challenges your patience and
character. We would complain why they became our students, but we must also remember that God
put them in our class for a purpose. In those times, we should remind ourselves to deal with them in the
ways of the Lord. Most times, those kids are the ones who really need the attention, love, and care, but
they are being neglected or left out. Matthew 18:6 says "But whoever offends one of these little ones
which believes in me, it would be better for him that a millstone were hanged around his neck and that
he were drowned in the depths of the sea." It is also said in verse 10 "Take heed that he despise not one
of these little ones; for I say unto you, that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my father
which is in heaven." These verses implies that we should never ever despise the children. Their angels
always have God's attention. That is how special they are in the eyes of God. We should never let them
fall down and stumble. We must be the ones who should lift them up, not the ones who would offend
them.

Matthew 19: 14-15 says “As Jesus was teaching, they brought unto Him little children so that Jesus
would pray for them and bless them but some of the men that were with Jesus tried to stop the little
children from coming to Jesus, but Jesus said, always allow the little children to come to me. Don’t ever
forbid them to come!” In Matthew 18:2, it is said "And Jesus called a little child unto Him and set Him in
the midst of them. We could say that in the middle of the crowd, Jesus still let the child to be settled
with Him. Children are playful and could be distracting at times, but Jesus still called the children to be
with Him. He knew that no one is left out in listening the word of God. Jesus knew that children need
the word of God and as early as possible, His word must be imparted to them. That is how special they
are in the eyes of Jesus.

In order for us to treat the children the way Jesus treated them, we should know how important they
are in the eyes of God. If we will just rely on our own eyes and might, we can't give the right treatment
to them. We might hurt them unintentionally, or even intentionally. We might neglect and despise them
and complain on how their parents raised them up, and talk against them. And that's the worst thing we
could ever do. We should receive the children like how Jesus received them. In Matthew 18: 4, Jesus
said "And whoever receives one of these little children in my name, receives Me also." This means that
we also receive Jesus if we receive the children in His name, nature, and manner. If we say Jesus' nature,
that would include receiving the children with pure heart, grace, and mercy. We should be
understanding. We should know that every child might be struggling with something and there's a
reason for it, and we are here to help them and to understand them. We must know why a child's
attitude is different. We should give our best in finding the solutions that would help them. We should
uplift them whenever they are feeling bad because we don't know what happened to them before they
went to school. We should be sensitive on what they feel and on their needs. Most of all, we should lead
them to the best answer to everyone's problems, the Alpha and Omega, our Savior, redeemer and
friend, JESUS.

The children need Jesus. We should not forbid them to go to Him. We can read in Matthew 19:14 "But
Jesus said suffer little children, and forbid them not to come unto Me; for such is the Kingdom of
Heaven." We should live a life that would lead them to Jesus, but if our life is a mess and if the children
don't see Jesus in our lives, then we are leading them away. Proverbs 22:6 says "Train up a child in the
ways he should go and as he grows old, he will not depart from it." "Train up" implies example. Our lives
must be a living example in the eyes of the children. Children are great imitators. They can copy what
they watch and what they see around them that's why God's word should also be manifested in our
lives. Children should see Jesus in our lives, that as they follow us, they become more like Christ. And if
children are trained to be more like Christ, they will not stumble and fall.