Parenting Part 2

After my last post, I wanted to share some key verses in God's Word about parenting.

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. "Honor your father and mother"--Which is the first commandment with a promise--"that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth. Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead bring them up in the training and and instruction of the Lord. Ephesian 6:1-4

Just in case someone might have thought I have a lax view of a parents role to teach children to obey...I don't. I think this verse is quite clear our children are to obey. As parents we can't let that part of our job slide. We don't have to say no all the time and have a rigid home, but when we do ask our children to obey we need to make sure they do. If we tell them to sit down on the couch and then we let them jump on it for several minutes, we are telling them we do not mean what we say. I don't know about you, but I want my children to trust me. So I have to constantly remind myself to be consistent. This is never easy, but in the long run it creates a trusting relationship between children and parents. Just like when God tells us something in His Word, He always follows through. So when we follow through we reflect Christ's love to our children. He has a high standard and when we disobey there is always a consequence.

At the same time I also have to remind myself to stop before I correct or answer my children. When we constantly correct behavior that really is not a big deal then I think we get into the danger of exasperating our children. So I have been working to be slow to speak. So that when I do speak my children know I am going to follow through.