Feed, Don't Force

I hear alot of people say they don't want to force their faith on their children. They want their children to come to Jesus on their own, to have their own relationship with our Lord. I agree completely--it can't be a forced relationship.
For a long time I didn't understand what the phrase "force my faith" meant, exactly. I was afraid of doing it to my own children. We've all heard someone say, "don't shove it down my throat," when it comes to religion, haven't we?
God has shown me that if you have an authentic relationship with Him, if He truly is the center of your life, you won't have to "force your faith" on your kids. When you live as children of the light (Eph5:8), everything you are involved with feeds your faith. The music you listen to, programs you watch, books and magazines you read, websites you visit, people you hang out with, conversations you have, they are all done to the glory of God. There is no forcing, just feeding.
If I want my children to be Christ-like, am I going to feed them a diet of worldly entertainment? I don't feed myself worldly entertainment because most of it is anti-Christ. How do you become more Christ-like if you fill up on things that deny or blaspheme Him, and encourage anti-Christ behavior?
If you want your children to be faithful to God, to have their own relationship with Jesus, you have to give them the tools to make it possible. You can't just pray that they'll see it in you, and figure it out on their own. You also can't superficially be living for Christ and "force your faith" on them. That's when it's forcing--when you aren't authentic. If you're real, you will naturally be feeding your children. If you're not real, you'll be forcing instead of feeding.