BibleSponge

Today’s living example of parents being the main influence in the home (Deuteronomy 6:7, Ephesians 5:15 – 6:4) comes to us directly from Raleigh, NC.  While this is an extreme case, it’s equivalent to what takes place all over churches today right under our noses.

Yes folks, Cheryl Mozingo successfully passed down the wonderful art of shoplifting to her two daugters, Heather (22) and Nicky (24).  The family has a trail of court appearances through 7 counties in the area.  In fact, Raleigh police spokesman Jim Sughrue reminds us of this,

"It's unfortunate," Sughrue said. "But the passing down of criminal behavior from parent to child is not a new phenomenon. Obviously, it perpetuates something that can lead children into some of the same problems their parents have had."
(emphasis added, read full article here)

It’s heart wrenching to see a family like this, let along two young women that are in great need of being reached out to.  Most Christians would respond, “Aw…someone needs to reach out to them.”  But how can we fathom the idea of reaching out to others when we’re failing to reach out to our own flesh and blood right under our nose?

Here is the legacy she is leaving behind.  How will yours look?

While this may be shocking to some of us and unthinkable to others, is it really that different than tossing our kids out into ministry and hoping they get the spiritual nourishment they need?  While the parent (or lack of) in this case has failed to instill the very basics of good morals into these young women (proven by the repeated list of legal run-ins) it pales in comparison to what we are setting our youth up for in the church if we don’t get serious about equipping parents (Ephesians 4:12) to disciple and evangelize their children.

JS