Integrating Discipline & Faith Into Parenting.
Raising good and responsible children in the world we live in today is a huge grace, and parents being a disciplinarian isn't enough to do the job anymore. Gone are the days when being strict parents made kids very fearful and obedient, we now live in the world where civilization has turned things around.
Although being disciplined counts but a lot has changed today compared to what the world used to look like back then. I and my siblings were raised only by my mom, and today, she always thanks God for helping her raise us. I know children who were raised by both parents, and they still ended up choosing a different way of life, which isn't a good one. Wouldn't you have taught that those children would live the best of life? Honestly, it's supposed to be a yes, but there are a lot of negative influences out there that can even corrupt good morals in the blink of an eye.
The world has gotten to a point where you can't be too hard or soft with your children since you can't determine the outcome of both. When you are too hard, there is a possibility of them seeking help from someone who could ruin everything you have instilled in them, and being too soft might as well end terribly.
It takes more than mere human wisdom to raise a child, and this reminds me of why the Bible says in Proverb 22:6 that "Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old, he will not depart from it. The way he (the child) should go is the way of the Lord, which is the way of truth, good, and righteousness. From my experience in life, raising a child in the Lord's way wouldn't require you to start worrying about your child diverting from the path you have laid his or her feet on.
Raising them in God's way would guarantee that they can resist temptation, handle any form of pressure they encounter in life, always choose to be good over evil, and many other things. Peace and happiness are also guaranteed on this path, so why would a child want to deviate from a glorious path?
Despite teaching your child the way of the Lord, it's important that we are part of their lives as long as we are alive. The level of temptation and negative influence out there is no joke, and things can get very tricky.
If Christ can be tempted by the devil, no one is above temptation.
These days, children get caught up in things that are against their training just because of one mistake, and that might make them want to walk on a path other than what you have shown them, but ensuring continuous guidance in God's way will always help them make the best decisions for themselves. Being someone who is open to cultural diversity, allowing my child to embrace other people's cultures isn't a problem because I am certain that he or she wouldn't embrace anything that is against what the Lord has taught us.
I had a coursemate in the polytechnic who was a student at a university before coming to the polytechnic. He mixed up with the wrong friends who were trying to drag him into evil, and instead of bending to their demands, he forfeited everything he had built at the university to start afresh, far away from his troubles.
It takes a child who was raised in the Lord's way to make such a decision; he knows what's right and wrong and wouldn't settle for evil no matter what the challenges were.
Forcing a child not to do this or that can be a very terrible idea, but when you have trained them in the right way, you wouldn't need to work yourself up trying to make them see the wrong in whatever decision or steps they are taking.
I also believe in instilling that Godliness in them as a first step to guide them against bad changes, may God help us in raising ours well. It's not easy.
I say a big amen to that prayer because without God, labourers labour in vain. Raising kids is beyond what can be done with mere human wisdom and we definitely need the guidance of the Almighty God.
Parenting sure is hard, but we need to do it so that we can raise godly children upholding the values that can help and shape them in this challenging world.