Raising a Family
Helping One Another Succeed
Please read our article “How to Lead the Family as a Family.”
Helping One Another Succeed
Please read our article “How to Lead the Family as a Family.”
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1. Be sincerely dedicated to the life goals of other family members. Help one another adopt godly and reasonable pursuits. Pray for success at those ambitions. Keep knowledgable about progress or lack of it. As a family, cheer one another on toward accomplishment. See Be Devoted to One Another
2. Place courage into family members when they come up against some difficulty in the pursuit of what they want out of life. Particularly notice when the project or goal is not brought up as often or when progress slows. These could indicate a challenge for which your family member may need more courage. See Encourage One Another
3. Help family members remove barriers they have placed in the paths of their own success whenever they cannot do something without help. People will make mistakes or fall back when pursuing important personal goals. Sometimes they need help unraveling problems so they can resume their active pursuit of critical goals. See Carry One Another’s Burdens
4. Restore a family member’s faith whenever it weakens due to the difficulties that arise in accomplishing important personal goals. Christians mistakenly think that having God’s blessing in our pursuits means that the going will be easy. Much in Scripture says otherwise. So does common sense. When the going gets tough, God’s hand is probably in it. See Restore One Another in the Faith
5. Don’t compete with members of your family in order to motivate success — unless the whole family agrees that a contest would be constructive. Competition might work in athletics and business, but it can be very destructive in the family. The Bible talks of a pride that is okay only if it does not come from comparing yourself with another person (Galatians 6:4). See Be Humble with One Another
6. In a truthful and helpful manner, offer your thoughts regarding a family member’s ambitions. Most people lose objectivity when they think about something they really want, and this can easily happen in the pursuit of personal and professional goals. Excitement and desire can even set people up for very unpleasant outcomes. Those who love us need to speak up and help us see the other side of our dreams. See Speak to One Another Truthfully and Helpfully
7. Help family members on their journey to success in education, career or other personal goals by celebrating with them at important junctures along the way. For example, offer to take a family member out to lunch or to a movie when step #1 of a project is completed. The reward of recognition is a powerful motivator. See Honor One Another
8. Recommend one family member to another for help in acquiring some new skill. Both members will benefit. Asking someone for advice expresses confidence in his or her ability. And commending another family member for an achievement reduces his or her need to boast. See Commend One Another
9. Put family members to work in the area where they hope to excel. Volunteer experience often helps build a resume strong enough to get a job in the field. See Spur One Another on to Love and Good Deeds
10. The family needs to evaluate each member’s faith in light of the personal goals each wants to accomplish. Often people want to achieve personal goals that require more faith than they possess. They usually do not know this and will appreciate family efforts to recognize their insufficiency so they can take the necessary steps to build appropriate faith. See Examine One Another’s Faith
11. Offer godly advice when, after sincere prayer, God gives you something that might help a family member in his or her pursuit of success. The saying “two heads are better than one” is true. So, a whole family’s thinking is most often of real value. This can become a regular aspect of family meetings. See Counsel One Another
12. Show family members how to overcome obstacles to success by doing so yourself and letting the family see your progress. When a person’s resistance to personal change or a challenge in life is strong, he will often not listen to advice. Instead, he need to see that advice carried out. In many ways, effective discipleship is “telling by showing.” See Disciple One Another
13. Make sure as a family that each member integrates pursuit of his or her personal goals into the work of the family. Often some aspect of personal achievement is useful at home. Families can help each member see that family life is a laboratory where new behaviors and skills can be practiced. Read See That Each One Does His or Her Part
14. Encourage family members to practice new skills and behaviors in society. Many goals involve relationships with those outside of the Christian faith. If God is behind these goals, He will want to bless many other people through the success your family member is acquiring. See Be Salt Together in a Bland, Tasteless World
15. As a family, evaluate new behaviors and skills of family members to see whether they are exercised in a way that generates respect with those outside the faith. God will give us wisdom to apply biblical truth and personal growth in such a way that others see God’s wisdom and respect us. See Be Wise and Win the Respect of Outsiders
16. Keep family members from giving in to temptations that will divert them from their godly personal goals. Individual ambitions are too often defeated by attractive seductions. Satan’s design is to get us off track. Working together, the family can help each person avoid destructive temptations. See Battle Temptation Together
17. Help family members get back to important personal goals when they drop them. Most critical goals are difficult to pursue, and it’s natural to avoid them, get distracted, become discouraged or give up. Families can remind their own members how important those personal goals still are and motivate them again to action. See Rescue and Restore One Another
18. Exhort every family member always to be growing through the pursuit of personal goals, especially the goal of becoming more and more like Jesus Christ. The family is usually the social system that accompanies a person right up to death. For most, even the day before entering life after death can bring one more opportunity to grow in the likeness of Christ. See Run the Full Race Together
19. Especially when the going gets rough, participate in the accomplishment of a family member’s personal goal. Each of us is too weak to accomplish much of anything alone, even with God at our side. God was at Adam’s side when He said that Adam needed a helper and created Eve. And that was even before sin entered the human race. See Endure Trouble and Hardship Together
20. Help family members avoid taking revenge by working through problems or by being around them when they are hurt by others. We can be certain that people will get in the way of our pursuit of godly success. But anger and revenge, besides being wrong, take too much energy away from the focused effort necessary for success. See Keep One Another from Revenge
1. Be sincerely dedicated to the life goals of other family members. Help one another adopt godly and reasonable pursuits. Pray for success at those ambitions. Keep knowledgable about progress or lack of it. As a family, cheer one another on toward accomplishment. See Be Devoted to One Another
2. Place courage into family members when they come up against some difficulty in the pursuit of what they want out of life. Particularly notice when the project or goal is not brought up as often or when progress slows. These could indicate a challenge for which your family member may need more courage. See Encourage One Another
3. Help family members remove barriers they have placed in the paths of their own success whenever they cannot do something without help. People will make mistakes or fall back when pursuing important personal goals. Sometimes they need help unraveling problems so they can resume their active pursuit of critical goals. See Carry One Another’s Burdens
4. Restore a family member’s faith whenever it weakens due to the difficulties that arise in accomplishing important personal goals. Christians mistakenly think that having God’s blessing in our pursuits means that the going will be easy. Much in Scripture says otherwise. So does common sense. When the going gets tough, God’s hand is probably in it. See Restore One Another in the Faith
5. Don’t compete with members of your family in order to motivate success — unless the whole family agrees that a contest would be constructive. Competition might work in athletics and business, but it can be very destructive in the family. The Bible talks of a pride that is okay only if it does not come from comparing yourself with another person (Galatians 6:4). See Be Humble with One Another
6. In a truthful and helpful manner, offer your thoughts regarding a family member’s ambitions. Most people lose objectivity when they think about something they really want, and this can easily happen in the pursuit of personal and professional goals. Excitement and desire can even set people up for very unpleasant outcomes. Those who love us need to speak up and help us see the other side of our dreams. See Speak to One Another Truthfully and Helpfully
7. Help family members on their journey to success in education, career or other personal goals by celebrating with them at important junctures along the way. For example, offer to take a family member out to lunch or to a movie when step #1 of a project is completed. The reward of recognition is a powerful motivator. See Honor One Another
8. Recommend one family member to another for help in acquiring some new skill. Both members will benefit. Asking someone for advice expresses confidence in his or her ability. And commending another family member for an achievement reduces his or her need to boast. See Commend One Another
9. Put family members to work in the area where they hope to excel. Volunteer experience often helps build a resume strong enough to get a job in the field. See Spur One Another on to Love and Good Deeds
10. The family needs to evaluate each member’s faith in light of the personal goals each wants to accomplish. Often people want to achieve personal goals that require more faith than they possess. They usually do not know this and will appreciate family efforts to recognize their insufficiency so they can take the necessary steps to build appropriate faith. See Examine One Another’s Faith
11. Offer godly advice when, after sincere prayer, God gives you something that might help a family member in his or her pursuit of success. The saying “two heads are better than one” is true. So, a whole family’s thinking is most often of real value. This can become a regular aspect of family meetings. See Counsel One Another
12. Show family members how to overcome obstacles to success by doing so yourself and letting the family see your progress. When a person’s resistance to personal change or a challenge in life is strong, he will often not listen to advice. Instead, he need to see that advice carried out. In many ways, effective discipleship is “telling by showing.” See Disciple One Another
13. Make sure as a family that each member integrates pursuit of his or her personal goals into the work of the family. Often some aspect of personal achievement is useful at home. Families can help each member see that family life is a laboratory where new behaviors and skills can be practiced. Read See That Each One Does His or Her Part
14. Encourage family members to practice new skills and behaviors in society. Many goals involve relationships with those outside of the Christian faith. If God is behind these goals, He will want to bless many other people through the success your family member is acquiring. See Be Salt Together in a Bland, Tasteless World
15. As a family, evaluate new behaviors and skills of family members to see whether they are exercised in a way that generates respect with those outside the faith. God will give us wisdom to apply biblical truth and personal growth in such a way that others see God’s wisdom and respect us. See Be Wise and Win the Respect of Outsiders
16. Keep family members from giving in to temptations that will divert them from their godly personal goals. Individual ambitions are too often defeated by attractive seductions. Satan’s design is to get us off track. Working together, the family can help each person avoid destructive temptations. See Battle Temptation Together
17. Help family members get back to important personal goals when they drop them. Most critical goals are difficult to pursue, and it’s natural to avoid them, get distracted, become discouraged or give up. Families can remind their own members how important those personal goals still are and motivate them again to action. See Rescue and Restore One Another
18. Exhort every family member always to be growing through the pursuit of personal goals, especially the goal of becoming more and more like Jesus Christ. The family is usually the social system that accompanies a person right up to death. For most, even the day before entering life after death can bring one more opportunity to grow in the likeness of Christ. See Run the Full Race Together
19. Especially when the going gets rough, participate in the accomplishment of a family member’s personal goal. Each of us is too weak to accomplish much of anything alone, even with God at our side. God was at Adam’s side when He said that Adam needed a helper and created Eve. And that was even before sin entered the human race. See Endure Trouble and Hardship Together
20. Help family members avoid taking revenge by working through problems or by being around them when they are hurt by others. We can be certain that people will get in the way of our pursuit of godly success. But anger and revenge, besides being wrong, take too much energy away from the focused effort necessary for success. See Keep One Another from Revenge