One of the most asked questions is this, “How do you get your kids to be obedient?”
Join us for EPISODE #3 in our Courageous Parenting Podcast as we engage this topic!
I get it. I understand the frustration in having a child not listen or be obedient. I have eight children of my own and they were not born with an extra obedience gene that just made them special in this way. They definitely had to be taught what obedience was and WHY they should obey.
Before we jump in how to train a child or raise a child to obey, however, you want to call it, there is a MORE important question that all parents should be asking.
“Why is it important that my children are obedient?”
This question is at the heart of why your kids may not be obeying. If you haven’t thoughtfully asked yourself this question, you may be wanting obedience for the WRONG reason, for selfish reasons, like having well-behaved children or not being embarrassed in public. These are the WRONG reasons for wanting your kids to obey.
We live in a crazy fallen world where there are parents out there that actually think that teaching children to obey is crazy. Did you know that? They think that parents who teach and expect obedience are selfish.
Insane, right? I would reckon that most of their opinion is influenced by their experiences and impressions from what they have witnessed in parents.
What they and we need to realize is that obedience isn’t really about us as parents at all.
Yes, we are an agent God uses and chooses to use in our child’s life, but obedience is more about what is in your child’s heart. And if you haven’t taught your child WHY they should obey from a biblical perspective, actually taking them to the verses in the Bible, then they don’t know because you have failed to teach them.
You see, God has a design for families and when properly lived out, it is filled with joy, kindness, patience, consideration, generosity, happiness, delight, and so much love. Part of His order within a family is that children are to obey their parents, not for the profit of the parent but for their own protection, provision, and nurturing.
What if I told you the two’s don’t have to be terrible, and the teenage years can be something to look forward to.
Would you believe me? Well, it’s absolutely true.
But it starts from understanding we are all terrible in the sight of God unless we accept Jesus as our Savior.
The vital foundational biblical truth to understand is that kids are sinful. It’s hard to think like this as they are so adorable when they are young, but if you think about it, you will know it’s true from your own experiences.
We don’t need our experiences to know, the Bible is clear about this:
“Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child;” Proverbs 22:15
Your child struggles with the condition of their flesh, just like all humans do.
The problem is that most parents don’t view their children biblically. If they did they would understand their need for grace, compassion, and understanding as well as a be more committed to the purposeful mission to evangelize their children.
Like my son says in our MINISTRY VIDEO HERE, if our kids can’t obey us, they will likely struggle to obey God.
This should be our MAIN motivation for teaching our children about obedience.
For a detailed outline of all that we cover in this podcast as well as the Bible verses visit our other website at CourageousParenting.com!
Leave us a comment to let us know what you think, what topics you would like us to cover in future episodes! We love to hear from you!
Also, if you haven’t yet checked out our MINISTRY LAUNCH VIDEO GO HERE!
