Loaves & Fishes 27

mind with the right things, to
guide the will to choose the
right, and to encourage the
emotions to get excited about
the right things. If you work
on these three things together,
godly character will grow in the
hearts and lives of your children,
even though God is not inside
them yet.
The Body
Now let’s consider the body.
We do our children a great favor
if we help them gain control
over their bodies. We do them
a great favor if we protect them
and help them keep their bodies
pure. They will each have
to live with the body they were
given and the patterns it follows
for the rest of their days on the
We do our children a
great favor if we help
them gain control over
their bodies.
earth. If we guide our children
with loving direction into proper
habits, these will just be normal
life to them.
For example, when you hear
the alarm go off in the morning,
do you jump right out of bed? If
not, I can almost guarantee that
when you were growing up, no
one made you get up on time. So
now, many years later, though
you love God and want to do
what is right, you don’t get up
when the alarm goes off.
For your children, getting
up on time can be as normal
as 1-2-3. When the alarm goes
off, you get out of bed. You tell
your body, “Body, get up! I’m in
charge, and it is time to get up.”
Or, “You are going to eat green
beans, body. I’m in charge. Not
you.” Some people think it is
ridiculous to work with your
children this way, but if you
don’t teach them to rule their
bodies, their bodies will rule
them. A well-trained child can
look at those green beans on
their plate and say, “No, they’re
not my favorite. But we are
going to eat green beans today
because that is what Mom has
put on the plate.” He can even
learn to thank God for those
beans with a sincere heart.
Help your children bring their
bodies under subjection. Watch
40 | Loaves & Fishes • Issue 27