The Children Are Bleeding — And We’re Too Distracted to Notice

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Jun 12, 2025
47
15
8
USA
#1
This one hurts to write. Because I lived it.
And because I see it happening again.

We like to talk about generational blessings—but we rarely talk about generational trauma, especially in Christian homes.
What we don’t heal, we hand down.
What we don’t confess, our kids will carry like chains.
What we hide in the dark, they’ll trip over in the light.

I’m not writing this as a teacher—I’m writing this as a son who inherited spiritual shrapnel from “Christianity” that had no Christ in it.


---

💥 Let’s talk plainly.

A father addicted to porn isn’t just “struggling”—he’s discipling his son in secret.

A mother who gossips and manipulates isn’t just venting—she’s teaching her daughter to weaponize words.

Parents who go to church but never open the Bible at home are raising children who believe God lives in a building—not in them.

A house full of yelling and silence trains kids to believe love always hurts.


> “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” —Ephesians 6:4
“The sins of the fathers will visit the children…” —Exodus 20:5



If that verse offends you, look around. Look at your kids. Look at yourself.
You think Satan cares that you “go to church”?
He cares that your house has no altar. That your kids have no shield.
He’s not just after you—he’s after your legacy.


---

🩸 This is personal.

My stepfather was a police officer and a violent alcoholic.
He exposed me to pornography at 12.
He brought Bible verses to church but brought hell home.

That spiritual abuse didn’t just hurt me—it almost killed me.

I’ve spent my adult life crawling out of the wreckage that no one in the pews talked about.
And I’m telling you this because someone needs to hear it straight:

> What you’re not healing right now, your children are absorbing in silence.




---

⚠️ Wake up, Church.

If you refuse to confront the chaos in your home, you’re training your children to normalize it.

If you numb out on Netflix, scrolling, or secret sin, you’re telling them “God isn’t enough for pain.”

If you use God’s name but never live by His Word, don’t be shocked when they walk away entirely.


> “They will stumble because they did not receive a love for the truth so as to be saved.” —2 Thessalonians 2:10



This is not about shame. This is about urgency.
We’re raising a generation that’s drowning in confusion, anxiety, and sin—not because they’re “rebellious,” but because they never saw the gospel lived out with blood and tears.


---

🛠 What can you do?

1. Start with repentance. Not performative. Real. Your kids will see the difference.


2. Speak life over them. Bless your children out loud. Break the silence. Break the cycle.


3. Pray in the open. Let your kids catch you praying, fasting, weeping. It’s not weakness—it’s warfare.


4. Clean house spiritually. That show, that music, that friend group, that secret folder—burn it or it will burn them.


5. Give them Scripture with your scars. Tell them the truth. Tell them what you’ve done. Tell them what Jesus saved you from.



> “Choose this day whom you will serve... as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” —Joshua 24:15
“You shall teach these words diligently to your children.” —Deuteronomy 6:6–7




---

⚔️ Final Word from a Wounded Watchman

I’m not better than you. I’ve been part of the problem.
But I’m drawing the line now.
No more secrets. No more pretending.
If we don’t fight this battle, our kids will have to fight it twice as hard.

If your home feels like a war zone, it probably is.
Don’t back down. Don’t hide in shame.
Get on your knees. Rebuild the altar. Cry out for your children.

God still restores families.
But He won’t bless what we’re too proud to repent for.

—Shane
#GenerationalWar #RebuildTheHome #ChildrenAreWatching
 

Lynx

Folksy yet erudite
Aug 13, 2014
29,196
10,571
113
#3
As a single guy with no kids I don't personally have any skin in this game. But this does fit what I have observed from other people.
 

Suze

Well-known member
Mar 14, 2025
470
265
63
#4
This one hurts to write. Because I lived it.
And because I see it happening again.

We like to talk about generational blessings—but we rarely talk about generational trauma, especially in Christian homes.
What we don’t heal, we hand down.
What we don’t confess, our kids will carry like chains.
What we hide in the dark, they’ll trip over in the light.

I’m not writing this as a teacher—I’m writing this as a son who inherited spiritual shrapnel from “Christianity” that had no Christ in it.


---

💥 Let’s talk plainly.

A father addicted to porn isn’t just “struggling”—he’s discipling his son in secret.

A mother who gossips and manipulates isn’t just venting—she’s teaching her daughter to weaponize words.

Parents who go to church but never open the Bible at home are raising children who believe God lives in a building—not in them.

A house full of yelling and silence trains kids to believe love always hurts.


> “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” —Ephesians 6:4
“The sins of the fathers will visit the children…” —Exodus 20:5



If that verse offends you, look around. Look at your kids. Look at yourself.
You think Satan cares that you “go to church”?
He cares that your house has no altar. That your kids have no shield.
He’s not just after you—he’s after your legacy.


---

🩸 This is personal.

My stepfather was a police officer and a violent alcoholic.
He exposed me to pornography at 12.
He brought Bible verses to church but brought hell home.

That spiritual abuse didn’t just hurt me—it almost killed me.

I’ve spent my adult life crawling out of the wreckage that no one in the pews talked about.
And I’m telling you this because someone needs to hear it straight:

> What you’re not healing right now, your children are absorbing in silence.




---

⚠️ Wake up, Church.

If you refuse to confront the chaos in your home, you’re training your children to normalize it.

If you numb out on Netflix, scrolling, or secret sin, you’re telling them “God isn’t enough for pain.”

If you use God’s name but never live by His Word, don’t be shocked when they walk away entirely.


> “They will stumble because they did not receive a love for the truth so as to be saved.” —2 Thessalonians 2:10



This is not about shame. This is about urgency.
We’re raising a generation that’s drowning in confusion, anxiety, and sin—not because they’re “rebellious,” but because they never saw the gospel lived out with blood and tears.


---

🛠 What can you do?

1. Start with repentance. Not performative. Real. Your kids will see the difference.


2. Speak life over them. Bless your children out loud. Break the silence. Break the cycle.


3. Pray in the open. Let your kids catch you praying, fasting, weeping. It’s not weakness—it’s warfare.


4. Clean house spiritually. That show, that music, that friend group, that secret folder—burn it or it will burn them.


5. Give them Scripture with your scars. Tell them the truth. Tell them what you’ve done. Tell them what Jesus saved you from.



> “Choose this day whom you will serve... as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” —Joshua 24:15
“You shall teach these words diligently to your children.” —Deuteronomy 6:6–7




---

⚔️ Final Word from a Wounded Watchman

I’m not better than you. I’ve been part of the problem.
But I’m drawing the line now.
No more secrets. No more pretending.
If we don’t fight this battle, our kids will have to fight it twice as hard.

If your home feels like a war zone, it probably is.
Don’t back down. Don’t hide in shame.
Get on your knees. Rebuild the altar. Cry out for your children.

God still restores families.
But He won’t bless what we’re too proud to repent for.

—Shane
#GenerationalWar #RebuildTheHome #ChildrenAreWatching
I've often wondered if something happens to adults when they have children , it's like they completely forget what it was like being a child . The pain , the fear , the insecurity , the desperate need for a parents attention and affection .
The only parents I had and I mean parents in the true sense of the word , were God and Jesus . They protected me , preserved me and provided for me , They made me feel safe and loved and cared for and They r still doing it now . I had a lot of different people that I lived with but none of them parented me , they were just babysitting me . Giving me a roof and that was it . I've never had any children of my own and I think it is because I was terrified of the responsibility . To me , bringing another human into this world , being responsible for its physical , mental and emotional responsibility is an enormous task and one that I never felt as if I was good enough to do . I was so scared I would mess a child up in some way because of my own baggage . Now I'm of an age where I think that maybe , just maybe , with God's help , I could do it . But I'm nearly 58 ! So its too late for me now . God knows what He's doing and He knows me better than I do , if He didn't let me have children I'm sure He had very very good reasons .