Essential Rules For Christians Homes

Why it’s important to follow God’s rules

Throughout the Old Testament, there were many famous rules, such as the Ten Commandments and the Law of Moses. God still wants us to follow many of these rules today.

By God’s laws, we come to realize our sinfulness and see Jesus as a Savior. Furthermore, they provide us with a clearer understanding of what God's righteous demands are, which cannot be achieved without Jesus. 

Scripture foresees the coming of the Messiah, and Christ fulfilled God’s law by coming into the world. Knowing that Jesus paid for everything with his life allows us to obey God with delight. 

Obeying Jesus is not for earning anything, but rather because he was a suffering servant whose ways are good, and thus his rules are for our benefit.

Our failure to obey is often the result of our own faults. Keeping rules is therefore challenging. However, we should try our best to obey God’s rules, repenting when we fall short, for they will only better us and our lives. If we chose to live without the rules of the Father, we wouldn’t get very far. 

The same is true for the rules within your family unit.

Essential rules for every Christian household

Proverbs 22:6 says, “Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.” To fulfill that sentiment, here's a list of rules for every Christian home.

Behavior rules at home

If behavior house rules are to work properly, all family members need to understand and respect them. 

By doing this, children receive clear messages about what's okay and what's not. The number of rules you set will depend on how well your child comprehends and remembers them. 

It’s also hard for a parent to consistently enforce lots of new rules within their own family unit. So it’s important to have a set number of rules that your children clearly understand. A great way to do this is by making the rules visible for everyone in the family to see, like keeping a chore chart in the kitchen. 

Some common rules to set for behavior at home include:

1. No hurting or hitting your siblings. Keep your hands and feet to yourself.
2. No interrupting, and wait for your turn to speak.
3. Use an inside voice when talking in the house.
4. Sit on the couch or lie down on the bed.
5. Be respectful to your elders.
6. Everyone must participate in household chores.
7. Don’t leave the dinner table without asking.
8. Limited screen time and video games.
9. Do homework after school.

Rewarding your children for good behavior is also important. One way to do this is by creating a reward chart for your young children and older kids to help them track their progress. 

Behavior rules in public

If you want to avoid your little one's tantrums, let your child know your expectations before entering a building or event.

Before going somewhere, tell your child how long you plan on staying there. Enforce that they shouldn’t yell indoors, and they should play with other kids nicely. Then tell them when it’s time to go, that they shouldn’t whine. Make sure to enforce the consequences, such as time out, taking away toys, etc., if they disobey these rules.

Some public behavior rules could include:

1. Have respect for other people’s property.
2. Don’t stare at others or strangers.
3. Never throw trash on the ground.
4. Say please and thank you.
5. If you bump into someone, say, “Excuse me.”
6. Remember to be patient and wait for your turn.
7. No screaming indoors.

Try not to give them a hard time if they slip up every now and again. And always make sure that the punishment fits their age group.

Rules for worship

Long church services can be really difficult for children.

Sitting through a long service and listening to someone talk for hours might be monotonous for a child. Since children need so much visual stimulation, this makes sense.

Therefore, it is a wise idea to explain the value of church and worship to your children early on. Making them feel included in family worship and family prayers at home can be a helpful way to achieve this outcome.

In order to keep your child well behaved at church services, here are a few rules you can use: 

1. Obey and listen to God.
2. While at church, sit still and quietly.
3. Listen to the Pastor when they speak.
4. When it’s time to sing praises, try and participate.
5. When it’s time to pray, bow your head and close your eyes.

Something that can help your children behave at church is explaining how holy communion works beforehand. 

Boundary rules

Here are some rules for you to help establish clear boundaries:

1. Be trustworthy as a parent.
2. Involve the children in boundary-setting. 
3. Post the boundary rules in a clear spot.
4. Remember that the punishment should fit the wrongdoing.
5. Respect your child’s space.
6. Communicate your intentions effectively.
7. Try to answer all their questions truthfully, but within reason.
8. Teach that sometimes Mom and Dad need alone time.
9. Have discussions about mental health.