Should Parents Force Their Children To Go To Church?

There are many parents in today’s Christianity who are not able to Get their sons and daughters to go to church without having to force them. This is turn does nothing but destroy the relationships between the parents and children.

Jesus said that He had come to turn children against their parents. But is this really what Jesus meant? I hardly think so. I do not believe that parents have any right in forcing their children to go to church.

Why not?

It Creates Hypocrites

Forcing children to go to church will in many cases turn them into hypocrites. Jesus hated hypocrisy, and He made Himself very clear in that area.

Some, once they are old enough to decide for themselves, will leave the church. But others, those who were somewhat able to fit into the crowd, they will stick around and continue in the same forceful behaviour in which they were raised. They will have learned to enjoy the setting, and because they were never allowed to have other friends, besides church friends, they won’t know a different life. And thus, leaving the church becomes just as scary for them, as it was to join the church in the first place.

God Wants Them Saved Too

Some might argue, that the reason the parents make their children go to church is because they want to usher them into the kingdom of God. The Bible, however, makes it very clear that the parents cannot save their children, and neither can the children save their parents.

God wants that we should all be saved. And He wants it more than we could ever imagine. Yet, there is no evidence anywhere in the Bible where God ever forced anyone to worship Him. God never, ever, makes us do ANYTHING that we do not want to do.

You can clearly see that in the way that Jesus treated His disciples, the pharisees and other people. He never enticed them with anything so that they should follow Him, and neither did He use any force on anyone. His disciples and everyone else was free to follow, or not to follow Him. All Jesus did was preach the truth, and the rest was up to each individual.

Thus, for the parents to force their children to go to church is absurd. For they are to exercise the same authority as God exercises over His people. But to force someone, is just not right.

That does not mean that parents do not have a right to punish their children when they have done wrong. But when it comes to the Kingdom of God, it should NEVER be forced upon anyone, not even young children. For God gave us ALL free will, and that includes children. The church is a place for believers to come together and worship, and if someone does not want to be there, they shouldn’t be forced to be there. For all that does, is it sows the seeds of corruption among the midst of God’s people.