But We Ourselves Will Go

Numbers 32:17

But we ourselves will go ready armed before the children of Israel, until we have brought them unto their place: and our little ones shall dwell in the fenced cities because of the inhabitants of the land.

The two-and-a-half tribes of Israel wanted to stay on this side of the Jordan River. They wanted their inheritance on this side, rather than crossing the Jordan River like the rest of the tribes of Israel. They told Moses that they felt this side of the river was where their inheritance should be. Then they said a troubling statement that should have alarmed Moses. They said, But we ourselves will go ready armed before the children of Israel. These men had great intentions, but their intentions were a detriment to their children. They wanted to cross the Jordan River while their children sat on this side and played. While these men went to war on the other side of the Jordan River, the children on this side of the Jordan River sat in their house in comfort. While these men went to war and witnessed the miracles of God, the children on this side of the Jordan River never saw those miracles. Those children needed to see the war, just like the children who went to the other side of the Jordan River saw.

Getting your children to serve the Lord once they become adults is not an easy task, but you certainly won't get them to serve the Lord if you have them sit at home while you serve the Lord. A great mistake has been made by many parents to allow their children to stay at home while they work in a church ministry. Many preachers' kids have sat at home while daddy was serving the Lord. Many ministry children have sat alone at home while mom and dad served in a ministry at the church. When those children became adults, sadly, they went the way of the world.

Because we have lost many children to the world whose parents were in the ministry, we often say that we don't want to lose our children because of the ministry. What I have learned is that we don't lose our children because of the ministry; we lose them because we let them sit at home instead of serving the Lord. Proverbs 29:15 teaches, …a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame. You cannot leave your children at home for any reason and expect them to turn out right. Just because mom and dad are serving the Lord does not mean that the children should not serve the Lord with them.

Children need to see the battles that mom and dad have fought that brought God’s blessings upon their lives. Children need to learn that blessings do not come without hard work or battles, and they will never see this without being involved in the ministry with their parents. Many children in the ministry have grown up and become cold toward God and the ministry because they've never seen the miracles firsthand or what it takes to get them. If children learn, as children, that God's blessings and miracles come through battles and hard work, they will learn how to get those same blessings and miracles for their own lives.

Let me caution you: never leave your children at home while you serve God. Your best chance of your children turning out right for God is to get them involved in the ministry with you. Make your ministry a family time, and the great memories that your children will have of their parents will be because they served God with their parents in the ministry.