SCARED

“It scared me,” Shayna said.

She’s only eight years old. There are a lot of things that could scare her. Some could almost be laughable. What scared her this time? “Mom made me sit on my dad’s lap; she wanted to take a picture of us.”

Why would sitting on her dad’s lap for a photograph scare her? The Bible says, “Fathers, do not irritate and provoke your children. . .” What did her father do?

Shayna was provoked to fear by what her father didn’t do. Not even once prior to this time had he made the effort to see her. Now she was forced to have her photo taken with this scary stranger.  

A night of passion, a man and a woman set in motion the formula to bring into existence God’s precious gift—a child. Other decisions were made. And in that process it was decided not to follow God’s guidelines for raising a child.

Instead of scaring a child, the Bible describes a father’s responsibilities: “But tenderly rear them in the training and discipline of the LORD.”

“Tenderly rear them.” The Bible says that children are a gift from God. In that light, they should be nurtured and loved with the utmost focus on their value in God’s eyes. Listen, love, hug these precious jewels.

With “tenderly” as the wrapping for the child rearing package, training and discipline are implemented. Training-- showing a child the way to live. Much of this is through being a living example. Discipline--firm loving methods to block a child’s disobedience and rebellion.

Then we come to the truly more encompassing mandate for child rearing—“Of the LORD.” Raise children in the way God prescribes. For this we’ve been given the Bible as an instruction manual. So read your Bible; do what it says.