I read this opening sentence from an article in the Commercial Appeal and it caught my attention.

Real estate developer Rusty Hyneman claims in U.S. Bankruptcy Court he can’t repay $69 million in debt, yet he’s moved into a multi-million dollar east Shelby County estate.

Living in a big house with nothing to show for it. The appearance of great things covering up emptiness.

I think we live in a culture today that looks exactly like that. We can prop up the appearance of doing well while covering our brokenness. Sadly, I think we are doing this as parents. We are more concerned about the appearance of our kids instead of what is going in their heart. We want our kids to be seen in a good light. We all fall into that trap. I know that I do. We live in comparison with other parents and other kids. Meanwhile, we are not addressing the issues of the heart.

We are building empty houses. I am often convicted by how much I focus on behavior modification and not heart transformation.

What controls our children’s heart will control their life. Are we parenting with that in mind?

Our prayer as parents should be that God would effectively and functionally rule the hearts of our kids. Everything else is secondary.

What kind of house are you building? Are you building one that gives the appearance of outward beauty and success while the inside remains empty? Are you willing to tear down some walls and get to the heart of the matter?

I pray that we will be strategic as parents and build houses that have the proper foundation. I pray that we take every moment we can to show our kids they are part of a much bigger story, God’s story: the story of His character, His creation, and His redemption of this fallen world.

That’s the house our kids need to live in!