How are we doing as parents, not just in terms of how we handle our kids and their obedience, but in terms of ourselves?
Ultimately, it's the responsibility of fathers to ensure that what we find in our text does not happen. In verse 4, we read, "Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord." So, I want both parents to heed this, but here Paul addresses fathers, most likely because earlier in Chapter 5, verses 22-23, he began to discuss how the man, the husband, the father, is the head of the home. I think he's tying back to that and addressing fathers to ensure that their homes are ordered as much as possible. We are addressed as the ones most responsible for maintaining a well-ordered home and for ensuring that children are raised in the Lord. This command in verse 4 implies that our children should not be discouraged, exasperated, or grow up with bitterness in their hearts. Instead, they should be loved, cared for, and pointed toward the Lord Jesus Christ.
I want to focus on three things to structure our time:
I want to look at the standard for us as fathers.
We'll examine the warning itself in verse 4—the command and the warning.
Finally, I want to spend some time reflecting on ourselves, getting really practical.
Ten Ways to Provoke Your Children to Anger
Inconsistency: Changing rules or discipline randomly
A Quarrelsome Home: Strife between parents
Severity in Discipline: Being too harsh or disciplining out of irritation
Favoritism: Showing preference to one child over another
Dishonesty: Saying one thing and doing another
Sinful Anger: Failing to control anger
Unreasonableness: Too demanding |
