Shepherding a Child's Heart

(^)
Chapter 6
Reworking Your Goals
The first step in building a house is excavation. The excavator’s
job is site preparation. He pushes away the brush, dead trees, and
unwanted stumps to prepare a place to build. Our last chapter was site
preparation; we have cleared the brush. Now we are ready to build on
the site.
Rethinking Unbiblical Goals
(^) If the goals in the last chapter are unworthy, let’s rethink our goals
in light of the chief end of man—to glorify God and enjoy him
forever. Bear in mind, in this discussion, that the issue here is not
whether these goals are lawful or beneficial for Christians to pursue.
The issue is whether they are adequate as ultimate goals.
Developing Special Skills
(^) What is the problem with having your children involved in a broad
range of activities? Many parents who would never allow their
children to attend public school will send them to dance classes. They
will refuse to have them influenced by secular humanism in school,
but will expose them to unbiblical ideas of beauty in dance class.
(^) When I ask parents why they put their children in these classes,
they explain that it has helped their child’s sense of self-worth. Are
there any passages that make the development of self-worth a
biblically mandated goal? Shouldn’t we be more concerned with an
accurate sense of self? Is it biblical to build self-worth on a child’s