Deuteronomy 4:9 “Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely, so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.”

I know parents who spend tens of thousands of dollars on their children’s sports careers. They get them extra coaching, special lessons, drag them all over the United States for tournaments. They want their children to have a chance to play at a level they never could. A few have even dreamed of a professional career. I’m not saying it’s wrong to do this. Sports can teach valuable lessons: hard work, discipline, and how to work with others. Perhaps best of all it teaches how to deal with losing.

But there is limited value here. Even the best players rarely become professionals. Your chances of winning the lottery, for example, are greater than your chances of playing in the NFL.

I know parents who have done similar things for their children’s musical skills, academic skills, or some other special interest. All of it can produce positive outcomes later in life.

But what if you could give your children training that had the ability to enhance almost everything else they do? What if it could turn them into hard workers, good citizens, and faithful parents? What if it could fill them with love, confidence, and teach them to be content? On top of all that, what if it could rescue them from all their failures, and someday save their lives, not just for now but for all eternity? Wouldn’t that be worth more than all the thousands we spend on their braces, or their school, or their weddings?

I’m not claiming that every kid would “get” the lesson. Some don’t. But you know what I’m talking about. Moses laid it out for the people of Israel. “Look at how the Lord has loved and delivered you. Look at the laws he has given to help you distinguish right from wrong.” This is the same Lord we know. We know the only God who loves us enough to save us, the only God there really is. We know his word, his will, and his ways. Shouldn’t our children and grandchildren know him, too? If we don’t tell them, who will? They need Jesus no less than we do. Make his word a priority in their lives. Pass it on.