Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Why Some Parents Fail - Part 1

Ephesians 6:4 says "And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord."  No doubt, one of the hardest and most difficult tasks that we have been given is the responsibility to raise our children.  There are many things that are involved in this process.  Our text shows us two very important things that cannot be left off.  They are "nurture" and "admonition".
     Nurture is disciplinary correction, while admonition is a calling attention to or a mild rebuke or warning.  I believe every parent would agree that these two things must be a part of a child's upbringing.
  Where every parent will probably disagree, is with how this nurture and admonition should be applied.  The good news is that God made that part of it easy.  The way that we administer these two things is "in the Lord".  It is not in the way that I think is right or not necessarily in the way that I was raised.  God's mercy to us in our ignorance is wonderful.  I don't have to try to "figure it out as I go".  All I have to do is follow the Lord's guidance.  If I do it His way, then I want have to worry about being too hard or too soft.  I can discipline them in a way that pleases the Lord. 
     Some parents seem to act as if they have mastered the task of being a parent.  If you ever run across one of those just remember this. 1) They may have never had kids & talk a big game; I used to do this as well!  2) They have probably forgotten how hard the task was because their children have been grown and gone for some time now.  Less than a year ago, I was having to help change diapers.  Now, diapers are a thing of the past and they seem easy.  It wasn't easy with a wiggling baby & an odor that would have you seeing cross-eyed.  3) Some parents may not have had to face some of the same hardships that you are facing.  Not all children are as easy-going as others.  There is also the difference between having just one child and having two or three.  4) Then there is the parent who is faking the whole thing.  This is the one that tries to convince everyone that their 'DEVIL' is a little angel.  Their child has had it harder than everybody else.  "They didn't really commit that crime."  "The video evidence was altered to make it look like my Johnny."  I may be wrong here, but I have a hard time believing that a parent that never holds there child responsible for anything is a good parent.
     I have three small children and one thing that I have learned is just how easy it is to fail.  I have made some big mistakes along the way.  I have had to learn & realize with the help of the Lord just how ignorant I was.  While I am not a master of the subject, there are some things that I do know.  The Lord willing, my next few blogs will be on the subject "Why Some Parents Fail"

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