In today’s society, children are so well cared for by their parents that many develop an “entitlement” attitude. This causes them to expect everything to be handed to them without effort on their own part. They have no idea how to deal with “hard” things in life, because they do not have to face hard things in childhood.
They have no work ethic, and not many social skills, because they sit in front of the TV or their electronic device most of the time. They do not learn to obey authority, because their parents allow them to boss them around without respect and consideration. Some mothers even clean their child’s room for them.
As teens, they prefer their peers, and they neglect spiritual quests, because their hobbies and social activities usually revolve around worldly pursuits. Even church camps appeal to their human senses rather than increasing their spiritual maturity.
I love my angel daughter, yet as an adult, she says she has boundaries that I encroach upon, and that she is exhausted from trying to explain them to me. We have different philosophies of life, and she rejected many of the spiritual truths that she was raised to believe. She even views some of them as abusive.
Our children are entitled to their opinion and perception; however, regardless of their viewpoint ... we did our best. As children, we suffered deprivation at times, abuse at times, and emotional distancing by our parents, who also did their best. However, these negative experiences influenced us as parents.
Most parents do the best they can. They juggle their own childhood trauma, a vocation, home care, and parental duties. We are all human and cannot do better than our best. What our children think of our best efforts, or their approval or disapproval of our best, is their perception, opinion, and choice, but this has nothing to do with us.
Prayer:
Father God, Your Word explains that if we raise children to experience Your nurture and admonition by our behavior, then when they are adults, they will better understand our life principles and possibly even mirror them with their own children. If they choose not to birth children, they may continue to judge our parenting style, but they will never truly understand our position, because they never had to “walk in our shoes.”
We trust in You to bridge any gaps that we inadvertently neglected to provide for them, to parent them as adults with Your perfect compassion and love, and to provide opportunities for them to surrender their life to You. Give them wisdom as parents of their own children and help them to parent with a balance of rules and consideration of their children’ needs and opinions. We want to spend eternity with our offspring, and we trust in You to bring them all to a saving relationship with You.
Thoughts for the Day:
