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The family is under attack. From the classroom to the courtroom to the cinema, the “traditional” family is being hit from all sides. But while parents can’t control Hollywood, we can control little Henry. We may not be able to sway judges, but little Jimmy lives under our roof. We can’t control everything the teacher says, but we can control what little Susie hears and watches at home. Therefore, parents must be committed to teaching their children diligently. That’s exactly what the premier parenting passage tells us to do.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

A few years ago, my wife Lori and I got hooked on the television show 24. The drama follows Jack Bauer, an agent of the Counter Terrorism Unit. I confess to everyone reading this that we binged on a few of the seasons. While the main culprits in this show are the terrorists, things really fall apart when someone inside CTU is working with the terrorists. The same thing happens in families. Many are blown apart from the inside.

As parents, we are told to teach God’s Word diligently to our children. We must be the ones who impress the truths of the Bible inside the walls of our homes. We must teach our children to wield the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. The word translated “teach diligently” means “to repeat.” Teaching is not done in an evening over dessert. Teaching is done every day over the long haul. The attacks are coming from within. We cannot drop the ball inside our homes.

Father, help us teach and live out your Word daily in our lives and homes. Help us to do our job inside so we can withstand the attacks from the outside. In Jesus’ name. Amen.