Parenting 101

Parenting. What a job! It seems like an evil scheme sometimes. You see, no two children are alike and no two parents are alike. Various parenting skills are required for various children. Unfortunately, these little ones don't arrive with instructions. There is no README file. We don't get a User's Manual. They aren't serialized. You know, "Enjoy your new HB1, serial number 1095B39EKK1. This model has special requirements ..." And, perhaps, it doesn't matter if we did, because each parent has his and her own concept of what they should and shouldn't do. Those concepts will vary from each other and they will often vary from themselves, depending on the situation. "Oh, but look at those sad eyes! How can you discipline that adorable little thing?"

There are no parenting classes for the new parent. You don't have to pass Parenting 101 before you're allowed to have a child. But, it wouldn't likely help much if you did because it seems like, no matter what we're told, we always choose to parent the way we choose to parent. "You know," a wise, older adult might tell a new parent, "studies have shown that putting a child in front of a TV before the age of 2 is dangerous." Yeah, yeah, whatever. We'll only use Baby Einstein stuff ... and occasionally use it as a baby sitter while Mom gets a break ... and of course we don't plan to stop watching it, so they will certainly be around for that. (I mean, seriously, you expect us to sacrifice to be parents?) And the wisdom of the ages is lost to a boob tube.

It's not like we don't have help.

Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him(Prov. 13:24).

Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far from him (Prov. 22:15).

Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you strike him with a rod, he will not die (Prov. 23:13).

Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord (Eph. 6:4).

Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged (Col. 3:21).

And then there is the one that, in my opinion, is most often forgotten:

Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven (Matt. 5:16).

"Oh, yeah ... forgot that one. Live it!"

Parenting isn't easy. It's complicated by the children. It's complicated by the parents. It's complicated by comparing children with other children and parents with other parents. It is, perhaps, the most difficult job to do and do well and, conversely, perhaps the most rewarding job to do and do well. Good parenting, in the final analysis, is tied up in the command to be a good Christian: "Love one another." If that hadn't been so obscured by sin, it would make all the difference in the world to understanding and carrying out the discipline, training, and encouragement required of good parents everywhere.