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Ghetto Parenting and its Charismatic Counterpart

Mary Mitchell of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote a great article titled “Ghetto Parenting Dooms Kids.”  Here are some of the traits of ghetto parents she listed,

• Ghetto parenting is cursing around, and at, a child.
• Ghetto parenting is brawling with your man or your woman in front of your child.
• Ghetto parenting is letting your child roam the streets until somebody else’s mother has to tell the child to go home.
• Ghetto parenting is putting your child off on friends and relatives because you want to hang out in the street.
• Ghetto parenting is getting so hooked on substances that the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services has to remove your children and place them with strangers.

Now, you would not think that this would need to be stated but to some it is a surprise that there are varying levels of parenting.  Some people took exception to the article.  They were not mad at “ghetto parents” but mad at the woman who coined such a phrase.  Sometimes things get so ridiculous that they have to be pointed out even at the risk of offending people.  Otherwise, people begin to think that the ridiculous is the accepted norm.

I could follow that thought with a boatload of doctrines at loose in the Charismatic church right now but I will defer for later.  I would, however, like to point out Charismatic Christianity’s version of ghetto parenting.  For the purpose of my typing laziness, I will shorten Charismatic Ghetto Parenting to CGP.

Ok, so you love getting touched by God.  You love laying on the floor enjoying His presence.  You love sitting under anointed preaching.  It makes you feel good to be around people hungry for God.  That’s great.  But if that touch, presence, preaching and hunger does not manifest in the ability to understand that God wants you to raise the children He gave you, then at best you have hardened your heart to the true word of God and at worst you have been deceived by a false spirit.

Newsflash:  You are not your own.  Bring real glory to God.  Get off the ground, prepare a meal at home, and raise godly children.