Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. (Eph 6:4)"Umm ... okay," I can hear you saying, "what exactly does that have to do with current events?" Fair question. What's the big news? Twenty-one (plus, including the husband who died of a heart attack afterward) people died in Texas. It was swift. It was brutal. And the solution, they tell us, is gun control. Really? Gun control?? You're not serious, are you? I would argue that this text offers an actual solution. And, along the same lines, I would expect that our society would have a greater reluctance to this solution than to mere "gun control."
What's the solution here? First, "Fathers." Notice that Scripture places the onus on fathers. They are the ones held responsible for the kids. Now, that doesn't mean they are the only ones doing thet work there, but they are certainly involved and absolutely, ultimately responsible. In society, it is undeniable that fatherlessness tends to produce greater crime. It would appear that God knew that in advance. So, fathers, we are responsible for our kids.
Second, what must we avoid? "Do not provoke your children to anger." Interesting that this would be the big concern. Not "misbehaving" or "get along with others" or "be kind" (let alone "be yourself"). The big concern is angry children. Well, isn't that what we're seeing with these school shootings? I've heard about Salvador Ramos's grandmother raising him and his mother defending him. Where is his father? And why was he so angry? Anger is a critical issue in raising children.
Okay, so dads are responsible and anger is to be avoided, but what is the solution? "Bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord." "Bring them up" is a process. It takes time. It takes work. It is hands on. Literally "rear to maturity", which is a bit telling given that modern studies indicate that maturity is coming later and later. Bring them up in discipline and instruction. Oh, no. Not discipline. We won't do that. In some countries it is illegal. But they need to be tutored and rebuked, trained and taught. Practice, practice, practice. From birth to maturity. And not just any discipline or instruction. The discipline and instruction of the Lord. Godly discipline. Godly instruction. Not the world's instuction. Not the culture's discipline. The actual, objectively good version -- God's.
You go ahead and pass new laws to stop people from breaking laws. You go ahead and limit "assault weapons" -- weapons of any kind with which we can assault one another -- to just handguns ... which, as it turns out kill by far more people than "assault rifles." Make "no gun zones" and put up fences and lock doors. Do what you can. But the Maker says that fathers are responsible. The Creator says that we are to avoid growing angry children. God's Word says that they need discipline and instruction, and the right version is God's version. The solution to angry kids is fathers raising them in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. I can't call on my country to do the right thing. I do call on Christians. Especially Christian fathers. Don't let yourself be guilty of failing your kids that way.
Side note
This isn't a blanket statement, but it is far broader than in prior times. I believe that parents today ought to be seriously concerned about sending their kids to schools that are openly hostile to Christ. Like I said, not all are, but there are far more now than in the past. Something to consider, dads, when considering your responsibility to bring up your children.
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