Better Than You

By Contributing Writer, Kim Doebler

A dear friend of mine had a hit single in the early ‘90’s titled, “Better Than You”. It was a love song, which gushed with the perfectness of her man.

‘Cause when I need two arms
That can hold me tight
A tender loving kiss
That can make it right
Someone to chase the
Darkness into the light
I know it’s true
Baby, there’s none
Better than you

I would love for every wife to be singing those words about their spouse. We need to be convinced that when it comes to the man we married, there’s “none better than you”.

I believe the title would make a great motto for parenting too:

Better Than You.

Yes, I would like to see us raise children that are better than us. Too often we think we cannot hold our children to a standard any higher than we have achieved.

For example, can a mother who struggles getting her bed made really expect her children to make their bed? Or isn’t it hypocritical to train children to speak kindly when mom sometimes raises her voice? How about requiring a child to eat vegetables when Dad doesn’t? Aren’t children going to hate us if they have to do things we don’t do?

If this is our philosophy, then in reality, our children have no chance of being any better than we are, and will, in fact, be a few steps behind us.

What a dreadful thing…to think my children will be worse than me!

Thankfully, God has not called me to raise my children to the standard I have achieved, but rather to train them in the way they should go. God’s standard it what I hold out before my children. We are all very aware that we fall short, yet our mistakes should not make us quit, they should cause us to fall on our face and thank Jesus for His great mercy.

Sometimes I think of this process as a mountain to be climbed. Each generation makes it a little farther up the mountain, starting from where the last generation left off. Or perhaps a relay race fits better, thinking of each generation as a leg in the race. As I pass the baton to my children, they will carry it farther along in the race of life.

Yes, I think it is exciting to tell my children that they are going to be better than me! I look forward to seeing them climb higher and run farther. How about you? Are you ready to raise children that are better than you?