by: Allen Domelle
Genesis 1:2
“And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.”
Throughout creation, you see several things where God put form to void. Anything that is without form and void must be purposely filled with the right things to avoid the wrong things filling the void. God’s actions in creation can help any parent who is trying to put form in the void of their children.
The first area where you must put form to void is a distinction between right and wrong. Early on, God divided the light from darkness. Just like God called the light Day and the darkness Night, you must make a distinction to your children concerning what is right and wrong and call sin what it is. Your child has no hope of getting saved if you won’t make a distinction between right and wrong. Furthermore, a child has no hope of avoiding sin’s destruction unless they are taught the distinction between right and wrong. Put form to your child’s void very early with a distinction between right and wrong.
Second, put form to void with the right attitudes. The firmament was God giving the Earth a personality. The waters, streams, mountains and valleys gave the Earth a personality. You must work early with a child to help them develop a right personality. Show them the type of attitudes that are accepted and which ones are not. Let them know that angry and selfish attitudes are never accepted. Teach them to laugh at the right things and to act appropriately in public. A child will quickly develop wrong attitudes if they are not taught the right attitudes and acceptable actions around others.
Third, put form to void with organization. It is interesting that God organized creation with day and night. A child must be taught very early in life to be organized. If they learn early how to be organized, it will be much easier to teach them how to organize their life when life becomes more complex. For instance, teach your children organization by making them pick up their toys when they are done playing. Teach them that there are places to play in the house and places they cannot play. Teach them organization by having set times to eat and by giving them a time to go to bed. If you don’t teach them organization early in life, they will learn to live a disorganized life in which sin more easily works.
Fourth, put form to void with proper dress. God dressed the earth and expected man to keep it dressed right. Parents should teach their children early to dress right. When they get out of bed, make them get out of their pajamas and get dressed for the day. Teach your children to dress right for each function they attend. Dress them right for church so they understand the importance of church. This is all part of filling life with proper form.
Fifth, put form to void with the importance of work. God told Adam to dress and keep the Earth. Adam had a job from the beginning. Children need to see the importance of having a job. Give them chores around the house early in life. The difficulty of those chores should increase as they grow older. Life that is not filled with work is a life where the entitlement mentality fills the void. Children must be taught that work always comes before pleasure.
The wrong things will fill the void if you don’t purposely put form to void. The parent’s responsibility is to be sure the right things fill the child’s void life. Parent, do your duty!