Parenting 101

October 4th, 2008 Tim Posted in SevenLakes Info |

(Nancy) Ever have one of those “aha” moments? I walked in to the garage and realized that the recyclable items that I had asked one of the kids to take to the bin in the garage were piled up and overflowing. A second bin was under the first one and empty. I sighed, remedied the situation and wished in my mind that this child would have, instead of legally doing what I had asked, thought about what would have been really helpful to the family.  And, if he or she needed help to pull out the second bin, asked me or Dad.  I have tried to teach to “use your brain” and be helpful to the family. There was the “aha” moment.  I saw God the Father asking His kids to obey with joy, give cheerfully, love each other; basically help the family and love Him with all our hearts, minds, soul and strength.  I think that’s why so much of Proverbs, Psalms and the gospels talk about the heart and motivation for actions, not simply behavior.

The verses about not “exasperating” or “embittering” one’s children came back.  As parents, we are to follow the way God parents us. God gives us His Word as a gift, God gives commands as a guide, God gives the Holy Spirit as a helper, prayer is a present, fellowship with believers is a joy, mission is a purpose.  We forget that life and joy were created by God.  God’s not a disappointed father who keeps raising the bar out of reach with each success, he’s a Dad who loves to help. He loves us enough to not leave us wallowing in the same old sins, in guilt and condemnation. He doesn’t want to keep telling us over and over not to do X, he wants to take away the motivation to sin and give us the joy of obeying. He tells us that rebellion is not freedom and joy, it is death. Do we believe Him? And if we come to believe Him, then we see our need for Christ’s grace and God’s help. Pride melts away, we admit we need our Father’s help.

 Though the Lord is on high, he looks upon the lowly, but the proud he knows from afar. (Psalm 138:6 NIV)