By Ewere Okonta
08037383019
“We are raising children who can fast for 21 days but can’t say the truth for 10 seconds.”
That’s not a punchline. It’s a national emergency.
We live in a country where spirituality is trending, churches are multiplying, and kids know the difference between Genesis and Revelation before they’re ten. And yet… integrity is becoming a scarce commodity.
How did we get here—where a 16-year-old can speak in tongues but can’t speak the truth? Where a child can lead praise and worship on Sunday and still cheat in WAEC on Monday?
Let’s be brutally honest with ourselves: something is deeply broken in the way we’re raising children.
The Rise of Performance Christianity
These days, religion is everywhere. You can’t scroll through your phone without seeing a revival flyer. You can’t go two streets without passing a church. But the real question is: where is the fruit?
Our children know how to pray in King James English. They can act out biblical stories in school competitions. They’ve been taught how to “sow seed” and “bind demons.” But ask them a simple question like, “Did you eat the last meat in the pot?” —and the lies come rolling in like the tide.
We are raising a generation that performs holiness instead of living it.
We’ve taught them to kneel before God but not to stand before men with integrity. They fear their pastors, but not their conscience. They give offerings, but not honesty.
We’re putting spiritual makeup on moral decay.
Parents, We Need to Talk
Let’s drag this home. Let’s talk about parenting.
We have outsourced moral instruction to Sunday school and youth fellowship. We think sending them to church camp is the same as raising them with conviction. But parenting isn’t delegation—it’s discipleship.
Too many parents are obsessed with looking good on the outside. “What will people say?” has replaced “What is the right thing to do?”
You beat your child for embarrassing you at the PTA meeting, but you praise them for lying to their teacher to cover up missing homework. You pray with them at night but curse at your spouse in the morning. You talk about God, but you treat people like dirt. And your child sees it all.
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: children learn by observation, not instruction. If your life is dishonest, don’t be surprised when their life follows suit.
We are raising mirrors, not robots.
The Church: Loud Pulpits, Quiet Accountability
Now, let’s enter the church.
We’ve got loud sermons but quiet accountability. Our pulpits are echo chambers of fire, deliverance, and destiny. But rarely do we hear about character. Integrity. Repentance. Quiet obedience.
We tell our youth to avoid sin, but we never disciple them through temptation. We scold them for falling, but we don’t show them how to rise with grace. We demand holiness but offer no mentorship.
Let’s be real: the church sometimes teaches obedience to spiritual authority more than obedience to truth. That’s how young people end up serving men of God but living in hidden sin. That’s how they become Sunday angels and Monday devils.
We’ve made Christianity about activity, not authenticity. And it’s killing us.
The Politics of Parenting
Let’s stretch this conversation into politics—because it’s all connected.
You’re shocked that a senator is caught in a bribery scandal? Look closely. That senator once lied about his age to get into university. He once forged results to secure admission. He once manipulated classmates for a cheap grade.
He didn’t suddenly become corrupt at 50. He was raised in corruption. It just matured.
Our political rot is a family rot. Politicians come from homes, not Jupiter. And many homes are training grounds for cunning, not character.
We think we’re preparing children for success—but often, we’re simply training them to win at all costs. And when they get into positions of power, we act surprised when they behave like hustlers with immunity.
Nigeria doesn’t need more prayers from dishonest families. It needs honest families who live what they pray.
What We Must Do
If we’re going to fix this, we must go back to the basics.
Dear parent:
- Apologize when you’re wrong.
- Reward truth, even when it’s uncomfortable.
- Live your values—not just post them.
- Stop measuring your child’s success by their grades or income. Start measuring it by their honesty, empathy, and courage.
Dear church:
- Preach the truth, even when it doesn’t trend.
- Mentor the young, not just monitor them.
- Value the fruit of the Spirit over fireworks in the Spirit.
Dear society:
- Let’s celebrate honesty like we celebrate miracles.
- Let’s stop rewarding fraud with chieftaincy titles and political appointments.
- Let’s raise children who are not just smart but also sincere.
In Conclusion
We are raising children who speak in tongues but can’t speak the truth.
We’ve taught them to worship with holy hands—while ignoring the filth in their hearts.
We’ve made them experts at religion but strangers to righteousness.
If we don’t change course, we’ll raise a generation that loves the appearance of godliness but denies the power of it. A generation that knows the church door but not the narrow way.
Fasting for 21 days? That’s great.
But can your child tell the truth for just 10 seconds?
That’s where revival starts.
This is my Sunday sermon from my holy pulpit!
This Sunday Sermon is part of our ongoing series on navigating life’s toughest questions through the lens of faith, family, and modern realities. Share it. Live it. Let it stir something in you.
Ewere Okonta is the CEO of EOB Media. He is a family values advocate. He writes from the Department of Business Administration, University of Delta, Agbor
gts2007students@gmail.com