Daily Reflections, Monday, March 12, 2007

Today's Scripture:  Proverbs 22:6

Today's Scripture: It is better to build strong children than to try to repair adults.

Has your child ever thrown a temper tantrum in a mall or grocery store? How did you deal with it? Did you give them what they wanted, or did you administer discipline? I’ve had parents come to me for counsel, distraught over a child’s conduct. In most cases, they give their child everything they want, but they justify this by saying, “I don’t want them to grow up with the hardships that I grew up with.”

Children are a wonderful gift from the Lord, but with them comes a great responsibility. God calls us to train our children in the proper way, for when they grow older, they will not depart from it. Training sometimes includes saying no. It involves discipline and correction—but do it with love.

Godly child training involves not only discipline, but also mentoring. Make an investment in their lives. Give of your time and energy toward their spiritual well-being. Silas Shotwell wrote, “The only way to tell the difference between wasting and investing is to know one’s ultimate purpose in life and to judge accordingly.” Time we spend training our children is never wasted, because our ultimate purpose is to develop Godly young men and women who fear the Lord and sincerely serve Him.

Purpose today to make an investment that will last a lifetime.