Vital Signs: Saturday, September 28, 2024

“Children, obey your parents because you belong to the Lord, for this is the right thing to do. ‘Honor your father and mother.’ This is the first commandment with a promise: If you honor your father and mother, ‘things will go well for you, and you will have a long life on the earth.’ Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord.”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭6:1-4‬ ‭(NLT)‬

Questions, Not Rejections

Not all of society’s ills are caused by fathers, but many are mitigated when a father stays married, loves his wife, and does not provoke his children to anger. When a father’s reaction to everything a child does wrong is anger, that’s exactly what he’ll reap in return. When children do something wrong, we should respond with questions that help us understand what caused the lapse in judgment. Children need to know they made bad choices, but they themselves are not bad. Let’s get to the heart of the problem with questions rather than lashing out with anger and rejection. This is not just a struggle with our children and family; it is a struggle with humanity as well.

Father,

Speak to each of us this day. Check our hearts. Convict us, heal us, and change us.