I grew up with parents and grandparents who lived by phrases like, “You get what you pay for.” “The greater the investment, the greater the return.” And, “Whatever you sow, you reap” (sound familiar).
I recently heard a new phrase, “Whatever you put inside will come out.” I remember my dog trainer telling me this when we got a puppy. She said the higher quality dog food I give Rosie, the less land mines I’ll find in my backyard.
This concept is also true about things we feed our minds: music, books, television, movies, and other influences. Like computers, our input dictates our output. We are wired that way. God is aware of this because He’s the one who did the wiring. He also gave us some clear instructions about what we should be putting into our minds.
Deuteronomy 11:18-21 says, “Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land that the LORD swore to give your forefathers, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth.”
God is telling us we should saturate ourselves and our family with the Word. By doing this, the Word takes root in our hearts and becomes part of who we are; part of our DNA. Then, we always have the Word with us when facing decisions like choosing reading material or movies, where we invest our money and time, who to spend time with, or how we behave. In a world that has thrown God out of every organization possible, it is up to us to educate ourselves and our children on God’s ways and His Word. No one will do it for us.
If you want your children to grow up loving the Lord and living for Him, you have to invest time in planting the seeds of His Word and His ways into their lives. You have to show them, not just tell them. If you want to reap the blessings of the Lord, then you must sow into the things of God. You will not gain any of these things by accident. You must be intentional.