Your Daily Devotional for October 18, 2007

 

October 18,  2007

 

 

Encouraging Your Children

by Dr. Paul Chappell

 

 

"And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord."

 

Ephesians 6:4

 

 

The Duke of Wellington, the British military leader who defeated Napoleon at Waterloo, was not an easy man to serve under. He was brilliant, demanding, and not one to shower his subordinates with compliments. Yet even Wellington realized that his methods left something to be desired. In his old age a young lady asked him what, if anything, he would do differently if he had his life to live over again. Wellington thought for a moment then replied. "I'd give more praise," he said.

 

As we saw yesterday we are to have biblical order in our homes. We must adhere to God's plan of authority in our homes. One order we saw was that of fathers. We saw that fathers are to be the head of the house and lead the family spiritually. We also saw that it is the wives' responsibility to submit to her husband and lovingly support him. Today we will see that God desires parents to encourage their children as well.

 

We must be careful not to hurt our children through our actions. The first part of our verse today says, "And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath." The phrase "provoke not" means not to exasperate or anger. God does not want us hurting our children verbally or non-verbally. Verbally we can sometimes become angry or upset and yell at them which hurts a child's spirit. Non-verbally we can ignore them by focusing on work or our hobbies. Either way, we are hurting our children and disobeying God's command of encouragement.

 

Parents, we need to see our children as God sees them—a human being created in His image; someone for whom God's son, Jesus, died. Yes, our children will disobey us and sometimes hurt us, but we are all human! Even the best child has disobeyed his parents at one time. God's love to us is unconditional and our love to our children should be unconditional as well. We should not provoke them to anger but should encourage them by loving them at all times.

 

A Christian counselor and his wife once adopted a little boy from a Korean orphanage. They loved him unconditionally and encouraged him each day. One day they asked him, "Would you like to go back to Korea?" He replied, "No, because here I am somebody special." Our goal should be that our children feel like someone special at home because of our love for them.

 

Also, we must bring up and nurture our children. The other half of our verse today says, "but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." The idea of nurturing is the process of education through love and discipline. Proverbs 29:15 says, "The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame." Nurturing takes time and love. Many times children can develop wrong attitudes in their hearts before it is visible on the outside. But as we are nurturing our children in godly discipline, the Lord will help us see those attitudes and be able to lovingly correct them.

 

Parents, we should do all we can to nurture and encourage our children. It is our duty and our responsibility but there is no greater privilege than raising our children! God has given us our children to raise for Him and we must not overlook our responsibility in encouraging and nurturing them.

 

Are you encouraging your children each day? While there are times we must apply discipline and correction, there must also be times we show love through encouragement. Take time today to praise your child for something they did. Whether they cleaned their room, did well in a sports game, brought home a good test score, or helped around the house, find something for which you can praise them. Also, make sure you are nurturing your child through godly discipline. Your child should respect you and your role of authority in their lives. Ask God for help in nurturing and encouraging your children today.

 

 

 

Daily Bible Reading

Isaiah 53-55 • 2 Thessalonians 1

 

 

 

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