For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to
him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts
were darkened. –Romans 1:21
Romans 1 is one of the most disconcerting passages in the Bible as it traces a process that ends in the depraved lifestyle of homosexuality and sodomy. Yes, these are the words the Bible uses in describing this sin. This language will, of course, seem harsh and offensive to some, but it is important to remember two things. First, this is the language God uses and second, one technique the world uses is to minimize biblical labels and sin’s destructiveness by repackaging them with less ominous words like “gay.” * Sadly, gay is not an accurate description of this lifestyle. According to a 2016 study, homosexual youth are three times more likely to consider suicide than their heterosexual peers.1 This should grab all of culture’s attention and motivate us to help these wayward souls.
While most emphasize the result of Romans 1, what captivated my attention recently is one of the things listed at the beginning of this downward spiral: a lack of gratitude or a thankful heart. (Romans 1:21) Few people realize the importance of developing a lifestyle of gratitude in the home. Why is thankfulness so important on so many levels? First, it causes us to look to something/someone outside of ourselves for direction and sustainment. In other words, it causes us to recognize a certain level of dependence. Second, thankfulness reminds us that we are not entitled to anything. Whatever blessings we receive is a manifestation of God’s mercy and not our personal goodness. Sure, we work at life, but any benefits we experience is due to the kindness of Jesus Christ. Oh, how this generation needs to understand this. Third, it causes children to look at what is going right in their lives rather than all that is wrong in the world. As our culture continues its slide into moral decay, this perspective will become increasingly important to maintain.
The natural question parents ask is, “How can we impart a spirit of gratefulness in our children?” We must always start in the throne room of God, asking for His grace to be active in our children’s lives. The Holy Spirit is the agent of grace, and grace is God’s divine influence on the heart, directing and empowering it in the way it should go. Parents can pray with faith and assurance that God will answer this prayer. We should also go to the scriptures, looking up such words as thankfulness, thanksgiving, and gratitude as well as their antithesis such as murmuring and complaining. We could then begin a conversation from the scriptures that read and talk about the seriousness of being grateful. During the evening meal or devotions, parents could ask each child to share 2-3 positive things that happened to them throughout the day. These could be such things as an insight into the scriptures, a life lesson learned, a good grade on a test, physical health, or a specific blessing of some kind. Then, during prayer time, they can be acknowledged before God. This could be extended into thanking the heavenly Father for family members and friends by sharing positive character traits or recognition of a particular deed or sacrifice of a sibling at meal time. The point is, we want them to have a positive perspective that understands God is always at work in their lives, in both big and small ways.
If people do not focus on what is going right in their lives, the alternative is to be depressed about what is going wrong. When this happens, people usually turn to some type of cultural anesthesia to help alleviate the inevitable disappointment. In turn, this leads to futile thinking which opens the door to increasing darkness, lust, and sensuality. Of course, these can only satisfy for so long, so perverseness becomes pervasive. This is the end of Romans 1.
As I constantly remind parents, teaching lessons like these is the glory of homeschooling. Because parents are actively involved with their children on a daily basis, they are able to assess their spiritual temperature by listening to their words and observing their actions. They can emphasize appropriate biblical truths consistently to each child, helping them to apply these principles and patterns to life. We must never allow the devil to minimize the importance of these opportunities because they will continue to impact our legacies to generations unseen.
1 https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/lgbt-youth-and-mental-health#anxiety
*It is interesting to note that pedophiles are now being referred to as MAPs (Minor Attracted Persons). This is another example of the world’s repackaging and an insight to their goal.
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