Being a parent is one of the most challenging blessings many of us will ever enjoy. Even while we remember the struggles of our own childhood, often recalling with a wince the things we put our parents through, we still contend with our own mightily. Every generation seems to have its own unique set of circumstances that put a strain on the relationship between parents and children. Some may recall the differing perspectives (depending on what side of the generational gap one finds oneself) regarding things like blues music, rock and roll, recreational drugs, "free love," hippie and psychedelic culture, rap music, parental advisory lyrics, the advent of the Internet and reality television. It is these and other things that contribute to driving the wedge.
Parents often attempt to keep the negatives at bay in a variety of ways, one of which is the use of severity. We criticize their choices, influences and activities and often proactively punish them without fully understanding the culture and times in which they are growing up. We seem to have lost sight of the fact that we wished our parents would try to understand our lives when we were growing up. This is not to say that certain activities do not need to be addressed or even nipped in the bud, but the bible speaks about the way this is to be done.
A Christian parent's role is to guide, direct, instruct and correct if necessary. To punitively punish when it may not be warranted is to provoke the children to wrath, which typically serves only to push them further away. This usually happens as the children enter their teen years and sometimes become more subject to the influences of friends and other outside sources then that of the parents. Though we need not necessarily endorse their choices, it is best to first attempt to gain understanding which, in turn, will provide a platform to discuss those choices from a godly perspective.
That having been said beloved, if these occasions prompt the introduction of God into the home, the proverbial horse may have already left the barn and closing the doors at this point is tantamount to an exercise in futility (though hope springs eternal). The clearly stated key here is to nourish the children with the sincere milk of the word of God as part of their diet throughout their growth and maturation process. Doing so will fortify them against the many negative influences that society is continuously refining and redefining. Of course, the children will, as we did, make their own choices and ultimately have to make their own way, however, it is our responsibility to put them in proximity to God in the hopes and prayers that their own relationship with Him will ignite and burn brightly, warding off the darkness that so vigorously pursues them.
"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."
Prov 22:6
In Revival,
Lee
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