Raising Kids for True Greatness (a book review)

If you had the choice between a son who was the most powerful political figure in our nation, or a son who lived in a poor neighborhood working alongside prostitutes and criminals, which would you chose? God chose the latter for His own son. Our Heavenly Father, who is sovereign over all things, sent His son out of a nice comfy existence in Heaven into the muck and mire of our world. Jesus was born in a barn, grew up as a poor carpenters son, was hated by most, lived amongst people the world had deemed unlovable, and died an awful death. Take a moment to look into your children’s eyes. If you are honest with yourself, do you really want your child to live a life like Jesus? Are you willing to raise your kid for true greatness? I was given the privilege of reading and reviewing Tim Kimmel’s book “Raising Kids for True Greatness.” If you are struggling with the question I posed in the beginning, I’d encourage you to read this book. I think the biggest point this book makes, can be found in this quote from the chapter “Choose a Great Master for Life.” Life isn’t about you. It’s not about our children or our plans for them. It is 100 percent about God. It’s all about God and His plan for us. If life truly isn’t about me and my plans, then I want to make sure every day is centered around God’s plan. Ephesians 2:10 says we are “created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Do you truly believe that God has prepared good works in advance for your children to do? Or are you pushing your children to do works that demonstrate success in the world’s eyes? Dr. Kimmel spends the first part of the book tearing down our culture’s preconceived notions about what success really is. Our culture says that a successful kid turns out to be someone with a good job, a nice safe house to live in, and 2.5 children.  We push our children to start competitive sports early on in hopes that they will hone their skills to the point of being good enough to play pro. By the time our children are in junior high, they are practicing for the SAT’s because we want them to attend an Ivy League school so they can get a job that pays well. Parents we must be more concerned with God’s standards for success! If you are needing help in this, please consider reading this book. I will leave you with a quote that is pivotal in understanding the big picture:

“God wants our children to grow up to live adult lives that are far more than just seeing how much money they can make and how well known they can become. He wants them to make a profound different eternally. When we raise our children with this in the forefront of our efforts, we automatically focus on higher goals than fame, power, beauty, and wealth-goals that most parents assume are sovereign. We aim them at a true greatness that is bathed in grace and carried out through humility, gratefulness, generosity, and a servant attitude.” – Dr. Tim Kimmel