Hear, my son, your father's instruction, and forsake not your mother's teaching, for they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck.
Proverbs 1:8-9
As parents, it’s important to teach your kids to obey you. Because this is how they will learn to obey God!
In the verses above, the word instruction is from a Hebrew word that includes the idea of counsel, warning, and correction. Dads, your role in the family is to be firm in instruction, to lay down reasonable rules and fair boundaries, and to give correction and fair discipline.
The word teaching in the verses above describes the work of a mom in the house. It’s a word that actually means coaxing or coaching. In other words, moms, your role in teaching is to push the kids a little bit like a mama bird with a nest full of little birds.
When it’s time for those baby birds to fly, the mama stirs up the nest, flaps her wings, and coaxes those little birds to elevate!
Parents, I want to ask you today, are you teaching your children to obey you? Furthermore, when your kids look at your life, can they see that you’re obeying your heavenly Father?
WISE FAMILIES COMMIT THEMSELVES TO OBEDIENCE.
by Dr. Paul Chappell
“The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty? While the word was in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee. And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.”
Daniel 4:30–32
The great basketball coach, John Wooden, won a record ten NCAA championships at UCLA. Over the years, he worked with many talented young men, but not all of them reached their potential. In time, he came to realize that the way they viewed themselves determined how they approached both practice and games—and that determined their results. Eventually, Wooden developed the following aphorism he would share with each new team: “Talent is God given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful.”
The devil has taken down many through the snare of pride. It is so easy for us to listen to the voices that tell us we are special and deserve applause and credit. But as the great king Nebuchadnezzar found out when he boasted of his empire, God alone deserves glory and honor. It took him seven years living like an animal to learn his lesson. Pride is a direct attack on God’s divine prerequisites. God hates pride just as much today as He always has. Though He shares good things with us because of His gracious love for us, He will not share His glory. He calls us to praise Him rather than lifting ourselves up in pride.
Today’s Growth Principle:
Instead of lifting ourselves in pride, we should lift our hearts and our voices in praise to God.
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