2019-11-29
Good Morning Dear Ones,
There are many lessons God has for us in the Scriptures. As we examine the parent/child relationship, we’ve already seen the many ideas God has for ideal parents. Now, let’s look at this topic from the point of view of what children can do to obey God. We do this as we continue to look at supporting Scriptures for the book of Colossians. PR 15: 20-22, “Wise children make their fathers happy. Only fools despise their mothers. Stupid people are happy with their foolishness, but the wise will do what is right. Get all the advice you can, and you will succeed; without it you will fail.” There are many reasons we are told in EX 20: 12, “Honor your mother and father, so that you may live a long time in the Promised Land.”
Most parents are loving and want what is best for their children. God tells us to honor our parents, so that we can benefit from their longer experience living and learn to love God, as He loves us all. Of course, the issues of conflict will come up and the corrections parents must make must be appropriate to the situation and the age of the child. (I could be teased for stating the obvious, but there are parents or children who don’t understand it, none the less). Sadly, not all parents and children have a healthy, emotionally balanced relationships. As my husband and I were raising our son, the most difficult area we dealt with was about the wise handling of money. As he grew up, he tried to convince us to buy things that weren’t wise for him. We didn’t give in to these pleas, and it angered him very much. As he reached the ages between 18-20, he got himself in to consumer debt by charging what he wanted to buy. Eventually, he met his wife, and she was able to show him the need to get out of debt. Sometimes parents are too close to have the emotional impact on their young adult children to make a difference. Other times, late maturing must happen naturally for the young adult in question to see the wisdom of what he should do. To my own frustration, young people want all the material things and privileges without the responsibility of ownership, and/or all at once while young. These are the same things our generation had to earn for themselves.
Like it or not, there is a generation gap! There seems to be no way to bottle up life’s experience and inject it into the young people in the family. We as parents must be patient enough to wait until our young people are mature enough to understand the stands on issues we take up. They as children must find a way to be respectful of the experience and wisdom, we parents have. There were a couple of things we insisted on with any child living in our household. There would be no motorcycles and no tattoos/jewelry in odd places on their bodies. My reason for this arose from the death of a close friend’s 17-yr. old son, due to a motorcycle accident. Tattoos/jewelry in the wrong places sends the wrong message and can impede success. When our son was 12, he summarily announced that he didn’t want me making his clothes anymore. When I asked why this mattered so much to him, his answer was, “What you make for me doesn’t have the “right” labels on it.” It was time for one of those life’s lessons, and I didn’t want to waste a good teaching moment. When my husband was told what had transpired, he decided a three-way family conference was necessary. The outcome was for us to give our son a specific sum of money, which was his to spend on clothes for the entire school year. Our son readily agreed to go on a shopping trip with me for this purpose. He wanted to buy his clothes at a regular retail store. That was when he experienced his first case of “sticker shock.” After we got home, he asked me how I made what I spent on clothes go so far? I explained that I made some of his clothes myself (I’m able to sew); and then, the rest I bought at discount stores. It was only then, that he was willing to compare prices between regular and discount stores. Since there are no courses people can take that will teach them how to be good parents, it’s necessary to learn as we do this “most important of all tasks” for God and our own children. It’s the hardest and mostly rewarding task anyone will do.
There are some people who have been raised in orphanages or who have come from dysfunctional parents, who don’t get a good example set for them by their own parents. They take on the task of being a parent with one hand tied behind their backs. If their spouses can’t help them, then they are in deep trouble. Obviously, not all families come together as God’s ideal, committed family above does. This is a salient argument for belonging to a faithfully obedient church family where tips for good parenting are available. Good parents are ones who know when to speak and when to hold back in the face of children who challenge them. They pick their arguments wisely. They teach their children to listen and learn to think through various consequences that their behavior may have. Good parents teach their children how to make wise decisions and how to go to God for His advice in prayer. They set a good example for their children by living as they teach.
PRAYER: O Lord, we know that throughout Your word is good advice on what to do and what not to do, to set the best example as a parent and as a child. Placing You at the center of our lives and as a full-time Resident of our households is wise and righteous. Obeying the Ten Commandments, believing in the principles of monotheism, and teaching children to revere God voiced in DT 6: 4-7, is the best we can do for our children. They need to know that Your love for all your human creation includes them and is unparalleled. Only with Your help can we teach our children to please You and to offer praise and thanks for all the blessings You shower on us. In JN 15: 5, You tell us that “without You we can do nothing.” In all our pursuits, this is the truth. Your wisdom is vast and badly needed. PS 111: 10, “The way to become wise is to have reverence for the Lord. He gives sound judgment to all who obey His commands. He is to be praised and thanked forever.” We offer these thoughts and prayer for Your continuing intervention and wisdom in our lives, in the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: I’m commanded by the Holy Spirit to take up suffering for our faith and for Jesus Christ. As provision of Scripture supporting the book of Colossians continues, we’ll also examine God’s will for our human attitudes and suffering for Him. We have one more principle, which the Holy Spirit has given me to discuss. It is the importance of teaching our children about their heritage. As you know, our family is Jewish, and thus, I am a Jew who believes that Jesus is the Messiah for whom Jews are searching. (Traditional Jews disagree on this point for now-see RO 11: 25). Ours is a heritage that goes back over 3000 years to Abraham’s time, one of tremendous persecution and contributions to society. If your family is black, then it’s necessary to bring up the horrific history of slavery and how it has impacted modern times. We are not to teach hate but are to speak openly and honestly about how to avoid it. The enslavement of black people in North America was shameful and should never be repeated with any group. If your family is Asian, Native American, or Latino, then the history of these groups of overcomers should be passed down. The point of all of this is that God doesn’t condone prejudice against any group. Already too many people have suffered at the hand of others through unrighteous behavior and attitudes. We are to be ready to share these histories and respond to insults with gentleness and respect [1 PET 3: 15-17]. Our godly conduct will cause persecutors to feel shame at their behavior and unkind words. Remember that Christ was put to death physically once, so He and others could come alive spiritually. Praise and thanks be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2019. All Rights Reserved.
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