Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases
the Lord. Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become
discouraged.
Colossians
3:20-21
Raising
children is hard work. It can be a lot of fun. It can be a lot of heartache.
Newborns are great, until they learn to tell you “No.” Then, the hard work
begins.
To
treat our children fairly, we need to let them know up front what the
consequence of their action will be. If the child knows that he will lose a
privilege if he chooses to disobey, then it’s not mean old dad taking something
away for no reason. The consequence is the product of the child’s choice.
We
live in a world that would prefer to deny the consequences. People want to do
whatever they want and then complain when they face a negative consequence.
They needed a parent when their parent decided to be their child’s friend
instead. Maybe the parent was treated harshly as a child, so he is lenient with
his children. She doesn’t want to be like her mother, so she becomes her
daughter’s best friend. The problem is that children need boundaries and
consequences. Without them, children don’t feel safe or loved.
Years
ago, I heard a speaker say, “Your children may hate you at times for disciplining
them, but that will keep them from growing up to hate the world.” No discipline
seems pleasant at the time (Hebrews 12:11), but parents owe it to their
children.
Discipline
crosses a line when it’s abusive, inconsistent or heavy handed. If you would like
to learn biblical parenting, check out Intentional Parenting by Doug & Cathy Fields.
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Ministries:
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