Saturday, April 6, 2019

Parents are our first teachers


THERE’S no denying about it. No matter how much we try, we
can never thank our parents enough. Through them and through their
love, we come into being. They are actually the ones used by God to
put us into existence. Thus, they are our first link to God. Seeing
them is like seeing God right behind them.
  
            They are the first ones to have authority over us in this
world. And they exercise that authority with such tenderness and
affection that we do not even realize that authority is exercised over
us. We are not even aware that we are obeying and following them,
especially when we are still very small.

              Parents should then realize that their authority is no
laughing matter at all. Their authority over us is always a
participation in the authority of God as St. Paul once said. (cfr. Rom
13,1) They have to be aware that they have to exercise their authority
the way God would exercise it over us.
  
            And in our case, as their children, since our parents gave
birth to us and put us to life, their authority over us has a wider
and deeper coverage than that of the other authorities we have in
life.
  
            Parents have to realize that their authority over us does
not spring simply because of their biological relation to us. That’s
because from that biological basis arise many other and more important
aspects of their authority. It’s not limited to the physical,
material, emotional. It goes to the spiritual and supernatural aspects
of our life.
  
            Thus, our parents as our first authority here on earth are
also our first teachers. And they teach us not only how to smile,
speak, walk, eat properly, especially when we are still small, but
also how to think, reason out, react and behave in the different
situations in life as we grow up.
  
            But there is one aspect of their being teacher to us that
they should be ready to carry out. And that is to teach us how to
develop our spiritual life, how to be not only truly human but also
truly Christian, a firm believer and lover of God and of everyone
else.
   
            More than the schools and the churches, more than the
teachers and priests and nuns, who only play a subsidiary and
supporting role in the education and formation of children, it is the
parents who should help their children acquire the spiritual and
supernatural life proper to all of us.
  
            For this reason, they have to be ready to teach their
children about God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, the Church and the
sacraments, the commandments and morality, and especially about
prayer. They have to see to it that their children are truly learning
these things properly.
  
            And more than teaching by words, they have to teach by
their deeds and example. The guidance and accompaniment they give to
their children should not just be physical and material, not even
simply emotional and intellectual, though these are already a tall
order. They have to provide the appropriate moral and spiritual
guidance and accompaniment to their children.
   
            For sure, parents need to be given due formation for this
delicate task of theirs. So, they should be the first ones to realize
that they have to look for that formation. They should not take this
matter for granted.
  
            On the part of the schools, churches, LGUs, NGOs, etc.,
they should also contribute in this concern by providing the
appropriate programs for this purpose. There should be an active
campaign to involve as many parents as possible in these programs.
  
            At the moment, there is truly a great need for ongoing
formation programs for parents, given the galloping developments we
have around. We are now before an increasingly complicated challenge
in the world insofar as the formation of parents and children are
concerned.


No comments: