The Word

As parents we need to be careful never to punish our children in anger, because then we're prone to over-punish the child.

Many parents make a great mistake in threatening to punish their child. Never threaten to punish. Promise to punish him and never break your promise. Some parents threaten their children all the time. "I'm going to knock your head off if you do that again!" You're not going to knock his head off, so don't say it. You're constantly threatening until the child doesn't pay any attention to what you say. Just threats - and he knows it. When your child learns that he can trust your word to be good, you won't have to yell at him anymore. All you have to do is speak.

Yelling is a sign of weakness. It's a sign of failure as a disciplinarian. I have to yell at my dog because I'm a failure at disciplining him properly. "Shut up, Sherman" - and he just keeps barking. But if I say, "SHUT UP, SHERMAN!" he gets quiet. Why? Because I'm lazy. I'm too lazy to get up and discipline him.

So many times the same is true of our children. We haven't learned to discipline them with a word. We've fallen into the bad habit of shouting.

Paul wrote to Timothy, "From a child you've known the holy scriptures" (II Timothy 3:15). Timothy had been trained, he'd been disciplined in the Word of God. What a blessing!

Children will not naturally gravitate towards good. You have to teach them the value of goodness, honesty, and moral integrity. You don't have to teach your child to cheat. They do that naturally. You have to teach them not to cheat. You never have to worry about teaching your child how to lie. They do that naturally. You have to teach them that they must always tell the truth. There's a natural bent towards the sinful nature. Children must be trained. They must be disciplined.

You must bring up children in the discipline and admonition of the Lord. But when you do, you may go through some years of trial when, in that intermediate stage, they move from their parents' faith to the discovery of their own faith. You may go through some shaky years as they're getting out and trying their wings, but you always have the confidence that they'll return to the God of their early years and early training. So, don't panic. Know that the Lord is going to bring them back to Himself if you've been faithful in your training, and you'll be rewarded in seeing their salvation.