I was just discussing this with my husband the other night and this blog post has been rattling around in my brain ever since.
Sadly it's not just out there in the "world" but just as easily found in our churches....which is even more sad because we have the truth, the cheat sheet shall we say, the key to having obedient, respectful children.
My husband and I expect obedience....it's as simple as that. God's word tells us "Children, obey your parents..." What it does not say is only if they want to, or feel like it or have time to. We began disciplining our children before they could crawl. Arching their backs when we wanted them to sit was not "ok" and we let them know with a few light swats...it doesn't take long before they get the idea. Allowing your baby to control you at such a young age is a recipe for disaster.
I see children throwing tantrums, screaming, hitting, kicking, talking back, and just plain not obeying. I see parents running after children, cleaning up after children, and making countless excuses for their children's awful behaviour (I catch myself doing these very things).
BTW-Being tired does not make it okay to misbehave....it's not ok for adults to act like that and we would not appreciate such behaviour if they did.
Countless times I have been talking with other parents who ask me "do you have that problem?" after describing some common childhood behaviour.....frankly no we don't or if we did(and I can tell you we did!) it was taken care of
I am not perfect....my children are not perfect...everyday we have obedience issues and everyday we start anew training our children in the way they ought to go. It is a full time job...correcting and making sure my children are obeying. I understand how hard it is to keep up with everything and everybody and how easy it is to let things slip(I fail miserably everyday!). We are responsible for the next generation. When I read the headlines telling of children who have murdered their teacher, hurting each other, taking parents to court, disrespecting the law, etc. it gives me great cause for concern.
What are we doing people?!!! Obedience and respect start at home!!! They are not going to wake up someday and magically have it...they have to be trained!!!
That is our God-given responsibility!
Thank you ! Thank you! I couldn't agree more. John and I talk about this so very often. Some how Christians have bought into the idea that kids go through phases and will just out grow their sin or that a child is born with good or bad natures and we can't do much about it. Thanks for these encouraging words.
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