Good vs. godly

I've been thinking a lot lately about what I am teaching my kids. 

Am I teaching them to be "good" or am I teaching them to be "godly"? 

One will have eternal significance, the other has the potential to give them a false sense of security in their salvation and also undermine the importance of what Christ did for us. 

Proverbs 22:6 says that if we train up a child in the way he should go, that when he is old he will not depart from it. This is my hope each day as I battle with my kids over the same issues over and over and over again. 

But, I also know the trap of being "good". 

You see, for most of my life, I believed in just BEING good. 

DOING good. 

Playing the part well, but never really 'getting it'. 

Over the last several years, God has pointed out to me, that being GOOD isn't what it's about. Period. 

Titus 3:5 ^{says that} "He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy."

And in Ephesians 2:8-9 it says “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: NOT OF WORKS, lest any man should boast.” 

 

So no matter how "GOOD" I am, or how many "GOOD" works I have done, it would never be enough to earn God's grace. Grace is a gift, freely given, but one that must first be received.

 When it comes to my children's hearts, I want to continually remind them of WHY we need to stop worrying about being 'good', but to help them learn to continually journey towards being godly. 

My prayer each day is that I will model for them Christ's love in a way that will draw them to Him. (My prayer directly following that one is that God would shield and protect them on all the days that I blow it completely!).

This past weekend I had a discussion with a family member about the way I talked with K when she was upset. I went through the normal spiel with her and then said, "Karsyn, what would Jesus want you to do?". This sweet family member later said, "Woah, you pulled out the whole 'what would Jesus do line on her'" and thought I was kind of joking when I said it to her. 

 

 But I wasn't joking. In every decision we make, in each discipline situation, in each conversation we have, I want my kids to stop and think about how Christ would respond. And that's what I want them to do.

Is being 'good' an added benefit? SURE! But I need them to KNOW deep in the core of their being that they can't ever be good enough for God anyway, not apart from Christ. If they think they can be good enough on their own, then they will never truly learn to need the gift they have been given. They also may learn how to put on a mask to fool those around them, but never truly surrender their little hearts and lives.

 What about you? What insight do you have on winning the good vs. godly battle in your own life or the lives of your family?

Love y'all!