Parental Responsibility
If you are concerned about whether you are measuring up to your parental responsibility, then you must read on.
Responsibility as defined by Dictionary.com is explained as…
1. the state or fact of being responsible.
2. an instance of being responsible: The responsibility for this mess is yours!
3. a particular burden of obligation upon one who is responsible: the responsibilities of authority.
The responsibility in the home for children being led, taught, trained and obeying is squarely put upon the shoulders of the parents.
The obligation for the proper custody and care of your child was given to you as a parent by God!
Deuteronomy 6:4-7 4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: 5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. 6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
Yet if we are honest we must admit that all around our world we see children that are out of control. And the worst of it is that the parents are allowing this out of control behavior.
It is time parents take their parental responsibility seriously.
But how can I assess just where I am?
Try these simple questions and see what is uncovered.
Do you find yourself saying…
“I can’t make that for dinner at our house, the kids just won’t eat it.”
“My wife and I really like Longhorn Steakhouse, but we never go there…the kids prefer playland at McDonalds, so we have to go there.”
“We would like to invite that family over, but our children don’t really like their kids.”
“We could not go there, our children would be bored.”
“My wife and I can never go out alone together, the kids just won’t behave for the baby sitter.”
“We cannot take our children to the church service, they just can’t stay quiet that long.”
“We will have to find a new church, our son/daughter just doesn’t get along with the other kids in the class.”
Certainly as parents we need to be aware of the likes/dislikes of our children. But they also need to be introduced to the fact that life is not always about what we like. If we do not address this very early we will train a rebel that will be impossible for us to parent in the later years.
And more importantly, we will raise a child that will not be approved of God. You are responsible as a parent for raising your children in the way they should go. But the first step is to assess if you have already set the stage for failure.
