The Dignified Mr. Walker
[A father] must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. 1 Timothy 3:4
As
a child, I (JCD) once spent the night with a mischievous friend who had
an amazing ability to outmaneuver his parents. As we were settling down
into our twin beds, Earl asked if I wanted to hear his father swear.
Being a curious tyke, I naturally said yes. So at Earl’s direction we
continued to laugh and talk for over an hour, with Mr. Walker repeatedly
telling us to be quiet in increasingly hostile tones. “It won’t be long
now,” Earl told me.
Finally, Mr. Walker’s
patience expired. He thundered down the hall, threw open the bedroom
door, and leaped upon Earl’s bed, flailing at the boy who was safely
buried beneath layers of blankets. Then Mr. Walker uttered a stream of
words that had seldom reached my tender ears. I was shocked, but Earl
was delighted. He yelled to me over the verbal and physical onslaught,
“Didja hear ’em? Huh? Didn’t I tell ya? I toldja he would say ’em!”
Children
can frustrate us to the core of our being. Some of them are motivated
by nothing more than the sheer love of conflict and are overjoyed when
they drive us to exasperation. When that happens, we have failed to
manage our families well (1 Timothy 3:4). But don’t lose hope—parenthood doesn’t have to be this way! We’ll offer an alternative tomorrow night.
Before you say good night…
Do your kids manipulate you? How?
What can you do to change this?
How can you better support each other in managing your children?
Heavenly
Father, so often we fail to manage our family well. We recommit
ourselves tonight to searching deeper into Your holy Word for wisdom in
disciplining our children, and we thank You for eternal truths we can
count on. Amen.