shinda smart-january sermorn series

[Allan Gerh]

What would you do if you won 25M?
Did you know that most lottery winners end up broke and worse off than before
several years later? Their problems include divorce, drug addiction, depression
and violence by or against them. Many actually said they wished they had never
won the money! The evidence shows that true success is not something that can
be given to you. the best way to prepare for success is not to pray for a lucky
break, but to take the time to build the type of foundation that will support a
successful life. Today we want to look at the Foundational years, 0 – 10
years.
READProverbs 22:1-6
During this years, academic excellence is prioritized. However, it can be
placing the cart before the horse. In the first decade, the primary emphasis
should be on building values.
Here are three of the most important values that a child should learn at this
stage…
* Obedience – helps kids learn to honor authority, to be teachable and leadable,
which in turn makes them good leaders
* Delayed Gratification – Kids need to learn that everything should be taken in
moderation and in its proper time. They should not get what they want
immediately
*Responsibility – Rather than focusing on them being number one in class, you
should instead focus on teaching your child the value of hard work, both at
school and home.
Why is it so difficult for parent’s to set the right foundation at this stage?
* Ignorance – Most of us either parent the way we saw our parent’s do it or we
try and do the opposite of what we saw them do. Unfortunately, parenting is
one of those things most people don’t go to school for and yet it is something
that affects them for generations to come!
* Busyness – At the time most of us have young children, we are also working
hard to succeed at our careers. Thus many have little time to spend with their
children and children end up being brought up primarily by house-helps and
teachers.
What can you do if for one reason or the other, you have a cracked values
foundation? You basically have to undo the negative values and relearn positive
ones. You have to retrain yourself. Whether it’s how to honor authority in your
life, how to be generous, kind, truthful or self controlled, whether it’s how
to become a person of responsibility. It’s not luck you need, its training!