Parents

Discipline your children while there is hope. If you don’t, you will ruin their lives. - Proverbs 19:18

Let me ask you a question, parents. What kind of a parent are you?

“Peter Pan” parents try to be mistaken for their teen’s older sibling. They know the name of the lead drummer of the latest rock band and can actually recite the words of a heavy metal song. They watch MTV and like sharing clothes with their teens.

“Good old boys” try to get along with their kids by sharing beer with their underage friends and lending them a car for their date alone with a girl. They smirk and allude to their own excesses as teens as they get their kids condoms or cigarettes.

“Doormats” talk the talk but when it comes down to it, they wimp out. They threaten constantly but when the kids call their bluff, they accuse everyone else but their kids.

“Ostriches” are also pushovers. They believe their kids when they come home from a party reeking of liquor and are told someone else splashed the kid with liquor as a joke…the same thing has happened at the last 6 parties.

“Corporate raiders” threaten teachers, sneer at other parents and generally have snobby attitudes. People try to avoid issues with them because they’re always threatening to sue. They’re constantly pushing their kids to get straight A’s, and are never satisfied with the child’s achievements.

“Donald Trumps” rent limos for school dances and reward their child with a Corvette for passing the driver’s exam. In comparison to Trump teen’s designer wardrobes, Nancy Reagan dressed like a bag lady. But they don’t have the time to spend getting to know their kids. They’re shocked when their spoiled brats shoot someone at school because they couldn’t see the signs.

And then there are the “super parents”. They gladly get up at 5 A.M. to drive to swim meets, they chauffeur their kids when their kids are too slow or lazy to get on the school bus. They sew costumes for school plays on 5 minutes notice and have been known to give up World Series Tickets for a chance to chaperone a band trip to Boca Raton. We usually pray they’ll be ruined by scandal in order to prove to our teens that their behavior masks the fact that they are evil aliens trying to dupe us all until it’s time to take over the planet and turn us all into mindless parentoids.

Whatever kind you are, are you aware of what God expects of us? According to Proverbs, we are to instruct, teach, guide and exhort our kids – not be their best friend. Hebrews 11:23 says that parents are to protect their children – not buy cigarettes for them. Deuteronomy says we are to correct our children and 2 Corinthians that we should provide for them. Paul tells fathers to not stimulate anger in their children. How can you correct, train, educate and discipline your child without stimulating anger? Two words: Care and Consistency.