It's not easy being a kid these days-there are so many things coming at you.
You know, there was a time when being a kid was easy--one mother and father who loved and were committed to each other for life. Today we're seeing lots of broken families, parents abandoning their children and even some parents choosing to abort their kids before they see the light of day. Things like violence, drunkenness, drugs, gambling, greed, adultery, homosexuality and the like surround us making it tough to know which way is up. And where is mom and dad? Far too often they are the ones teaching us about this stuff by their example.
From God's perspective, there are two types of parents: problems and providers. Problem parents often give us what we want, but not what we need. Providers not only help care for our physical needs, but our emotional and spiritual needs as well. Real providers recognize God's pattern for raising a family and strive to adhere to it.
From God's perspective, what is the main purpose our parents should play in our lives?
Parents are here to help us, to build us up, not tear us down. We might think they want to discourage us in what we do, but in reality they only want the best for us. You have probably heard it before--our parents are humans and have some of the same feelings we do. They most likely react to things the way we do. So what I'm trying to say is, we are not much different from our parents. We should treat them in a way that we would want our future children to treat us.
See, our parents are more then just people we live with. They are in our lives by God for a purpose. Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words says, "the word father comes from a root signifying "a nourisher, protector, upholder". That basically explains itself--a father nourishes, protects, and upholds his children. This doctrine applies for mothers too.
Ephesians 6:1-4 says," And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord." Our dads have a job, they aren't here to hang out and bother us every now and then, but rather bring us up according to the Bible's standards. We cannot argue with God about how He wants our parents to bring us up.
Proverbs 22:6 says, "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." A leading role our parents have in our lives is to help teach us about God and His Word. God's Word is one of the main things we will need to help us get through the many steps of life.
What about punishment--do our parents really have to do it?
I hate to say it, but yes our parents do have to punish us. In Proverbs 13:24 it says," He who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him promptly." It might be very hard to say, but I think we all know we need to be punished at times. We need to learn the lessons now so we don't get hurt in the future. The way our parents discipline us now, plays a very important part in how we act in the future. Our parents are simply trying to prepare us for when we become adults. As we see in Proverbs 13, our parents discipline because that is what God wants them to do.
How should we approach our parents?
In Ephesians 6:1-3 it says," Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. "Honor your father and mother," which is the first commandment with a promise: "that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth." Leviticus 19:3 tells us," Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, and keep My Sabbaths: I am the LORD your God." The Bible clearly tells us how we should act--always with a form of reverence toward our parents.
The Bible makes it pretty clear that our parents do have a purpose in our lives; to teach, train, guide, and build us up so we can be ready to face everyday life. We need to be ready to listen and to head our parents guidance. We should always obey them and show them reverence. So in this very hard and hectic life, lets work hard to build and maintain a good relationship with our parents, one that not only helps them be the providers God has called them to be, but one that helps us to grow up to be healthy adults as well.
