Clint Eastwood may not be your first choice for understanding truth. But there is one quote of his that does resonate with biblical truth. Eastwood says “a man has got to understand his limitations.” Proverbs 3:7 says “don’t be wise in your own eyes.” In other words if you think your own understanding is something you can rely on, you are headed for trouble. The structure of Hebrew wisdom literature, of which Proverbs is a part, uses a literary device called parallelism to highlight important truths. In this case, being wise in your own eyes is contrasted exercising the fear of the Lord and turning from evil. If you think you can trust yourself, you will not exhibit a healthy […]
Authority
163 posts
If we conducted an opinion poll with children raised in Christian homes, chances are that not many would list parental authority as a blessing. This would be a great tragedy! Authority is a gift of God to his people and especially to families. Authority is often abused on the one hand and grossly neglected on the other. However, it is important not to frame one’s view of biblical authority based on the abuses of others. Human authority is a daily object lesson that all of creation is under the authority and rule of the Lord of the Universe. However, viewing authority as gift requires something of an attitude adjustment for many. The world, under the direction of Satan (Ephesians 2:1-3) […]
Leading your children with love is a not a lofty goal that should you hope someday to possibly achieve. Rather it is a command of God. Stealing is not something that we hope one day to leave behind. You won’t find someone at church happily announcing to others that they were making real progress with learning not to steal; why yesterday they only stole twice. But when it comes to raising voices or speaking sharply with children, this is exactly the sort of logic that is used. “I used to yell all the time, now I hardly ever do it; well almost hardly ever.” This is thought of as progress. Well in one sense, I suppose it is. But this […]
Do your children feel led or pushed? Or asked another way, are you as a parent dominated by love or frustration? The two questions are inexorably tied together. Leading is born out of love and pushing is born out of frustration. Too often as parents we tell our children that we demand obedience and speak sharply because we love them and only want the best for them. Most likely our children are not buying this explanation. It feels to them as if they are being pushed into doing what mom and dad want. In contrast, notice the sequence of thought and actions in Deuteronomy 6:5-7: 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul […]
Proverbs Chapter 16 states that pleasant words promote instruction. If you have read the previous two posts in this series you know that I have some reservations about the use of explanations in training children to follow Christ. Explanation as a method of training is tied to the belief that teaching children is based on information transfer; if I explain to my kids how they should behave, what they did wrong and how to change, then my expectation is that they will behave differently and for the better. The problem with this method is that it misses the reality that behavior flows from the heart, not just from a correct understanding of the situation.
Ephesians warns fathers not to exasperate their children. To be sure, there are a number of ways to exasperate children. But, I believe one of the most subtle and discouraging ways of doing this is the wrong use of explanations in disciplining children. Explanations can become damaging when they are based on attempts at persuasive argumentation, rather than training based upon Scripture.
One common problem that parents face is attempting to explain their decisions to their children. The logic for explanations runs something like this: If I can just get my children to understand the reason for my direction, then they will be more likely to follow my instruction. While this may sound like solid reasoning, it is not. Children are not in need of lengthy, compelling explanations. What they are in need of is the understanding that God must be obeyed. This is true regardless of the ages of your children. In young children and toddlers, lengthy explanations cloud the real issue. Obedience is a response to God’s authority. Biblical obedience is not a matter of winning a debate. Young children […]
Christians don’t live in a vacuum. What the world says (or assumes) about God bombards you and your families. Even when you attempt to screen out the flood of unbiblical propaganda, it is still there, filtering in from every direction. If it does not come in through the front door, it comes in through the back door or side door, or the open window. If you are careful about which shows your kids watch, it is practically impossible to filter out the commercials with subtle, negative content. If you watch the news, either the network or cable variety, your family will hear a constant stream of false rationale for why things happen the way they do. For example, if you […]
Law student Sandra Fluke has become a national media figure (for the moment, at least), and an apologist for the unreality of God’s law and rule. She has not accomplished this with vituperative rants, but with “civil discourse” that “reflects reality.” On camera, Sandra Fluke’s even demeanor and business casual appearance hardly appear to make her a champion of evil. Parents, this type of “reasoned” calm argumentation is all the more dangerous because of its subtlety. These are the attacks on Christianity for which you must prepare your children. While they are young, while they are still at home, they must learn how to deal with such challenges. Just what are the comments that Ms. Fluke has made? What has […]
Forging a biblical worldview for your family Worldview can be an intimidating topic to discuss, let alone teach to your children. But this does not have to be the case. Sometimes concepts are presented so clearly and are so easily grasped that it is easy to miss the importance of the presentation. Such is the case with the Christmas carol, “Joy to the World.” In this light, we will take a look at each of the hymn’s four verses and see how they combine to offer a compelling worldview that brings honor to God. The first verse focuses on the blessing that Jesus Christ has come to be our King.