6 principles..

In my ladies Bible Study on Wednesday night, we have been going through the book "The Power of a Positive Mom." The author, Karol Ladd, quotes Dr. James Dobson from his newsletter in March 1999 with the following list of key principles that we should instill in our children. This was extremely convicting to me, and I decided to share them here. I copied these directly from the online newletter. A link to the entire newsletter is here.
"But what does God value? We cannot substitute His system for ours unless we know what He has personally ordained. Fortunately, the Bible provides the key to His value system for humankind. It seems to be composed of six all-important principles:

devotion to God;

love for others;

respect for authority;

obedience to divine commandments;

self-discipline and self-control;

humbleness of spirit.

These six concepts are from the hand of the Creator, and they are absolutely valid and relevant for today. When applied to life, they encourage a child to SEEK out opportunities, rather than HIDE in lonely isolation. They lead not to despair, as do human values, but to emotional and physical health. Isn’t this what Isaiah meant when he wrote, "All thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children" (Isaiah 54:13 KJV)?

The healthy self-concept Christ taught, then, involves neither haughtiness nor self-loathing. It is one of humble reverence for God and every member of the human family. We are to see our fellow human beings as neither better nor worse than ourselves. Rather, we are to love them as ourselves, and that prescription puts the entire matter of self-worth into its proper perspective."