Are we encouraging our children?
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Last week in this space, I talked about an important principle for parents, teachers, coaches or anyone else who is involved in helping to mold children into successful adults.
Briefly stated, that principle is that we have to help kids learn to be successful in stages.
A Bible verse that teaches this concept is Ephesians 6:1, which says, "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right."
The point I was making, is that teaching our children to honor God in this way is the first stage in helping prepare them for real-life success.
A corollary to this is Ephesians 6:4, which is addressed to us adults: "Fathers, do not exasperate your children, but bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord."
If we want our children to experience success at each stage in their lives, we have to be both wise and patient as we teach them.
I remember a time a few years back when my wife, Tamara, and I encountered this very challenge.
One of our sons was learning to ride his bicycle. He wanted us to take off the training wheels. So, I removed the trainers, and off he went.
But pretty soon the bike started wobbling, and he crashed into the light pole on the corner of our street. The bike went down, and he started crying.
Since I'm a father, I wanted my son to get back on and try again. So I said to him, "Hey, you want to try again?"
He looked at me and said, "No."
Tamara said, "Do you want us to put the training wheels back on?" Again, "No."
At this point, we had a choice. As a father who wanted his sons to be manly, and not be afraid of a challenge, I could have gotten mad and started insisting that he get back on his bicycle and keep at it until he had mastered it.
But, I also knew instinctively that trying to force the issue would only frustrate him and make him angry, so we let it go. In fact, I couldn't get him back on that bike for about a month.
Our patience paid off. One day I looked out the window and saw a girl my son's age riding without training wheels.
I can still remember saying to him, "Hey, look at this. Kristi is out there riding her bicycle without training wheels. Do you want to ride your bike?" You can guess the answer.
Within two hours, he was riding perfectly.
So, are we exasperating or encouraging our children?
Consider this: The Lord never exasperates His children. If you're in His family, thank Him for that.
And if you'd like to be in His family, tell Him so today. He's waiting to welcome you.
Jim Graff is the Senior Pastor of Faith Family Church in Victoria; www.faithfamilyvictoria.com
