Proverbs 17:21
He who brings forth a fool has sorrow for it, and the father of a fool has no joy.
Again, let us be reminded of the biblical definition of a ‘fool’:
He who brings forth a fool has sorrow for it, and the father of a fool has no joy.
Again, let us be reminded of the biblical definition of a ‘fool’:
One who knowledgeably and consciously refuses to obey the Torah.
The first Hebrew word used for ‘fool’ in this Hebrew text has the connotation of ‘silly; stupid’. The second word used has the sense of ‘vile; wicked’.
Many parents have experienced the frustration of child raising. A child is born into the world and its destiny is in our hands. We take all the good resolutions and put our best forward. We raise the child with great hopes and expectancy of a bright future which we have often prepared and saved for, but something happens around the early teens. The child all of a sudden metamorphoses into this willful independent being, and we don’t know if common sense will ever exist again into these brains of his. Sometimes, children never recovers from that turbulent period of their life. It is often at such times that family dynamics take a nosedive and fragmentation rules until the eventual birth of grandchildren. Sounds familiar?
During this defining period when everyone tries to assert their authority, issues big and small become shouting matches between the teen and the father. The mother on the other hand is often found crying on the kitchen table. Frustration brings out our worst. We feel that nothing will work and that the world is blame for wrecking our lives.
Maybe the solution is to put life in its proper perspective.
We also as adults have a Heavenly Father. Our Father felt the same way at our creation as we parents did about our brand new child. From birth the Father cared for us through His angel having great expectancy about our future which was also planned from the beginning. When we self-righteously react to our frustration with our teens, maybe we should try to have a reality check about our standing with our own Father. We need to remember that to Him, we are creatures of sin. If we carefully listen, we may hear Him cry those tears of frustration as He sees us reaping the results of our disobediences when He tried so hard all along to teach us to live a more Godly life but we wouldn’t listen. We would realize then the patience He has for us in His sorrow is an attitude which should exemplify ours.
So before we are ready to fly off the handle with our children, those in and those out of the nest, let us set our frazzled emotions into perspective by checking ourselves with our own Father. The wrath of man doesn’t accomplish the righteousness of God, the apostle said. Sorrow on the other hand, may work the perfect work of experience and conviction.
Many parents have experienced the frustration of child raising. A child is born into the world and its destiny is in our hands. We take all the good resolutions and put our best forward. We raise the child with great hopes and expectancy of a bright future which we have often prepared and saved for, but something happens around the early teens. The child all of a sudden metamorphoses into this willful independent being, and we don’t know if common sense will ever exist again into these brains of his. Sometimes, children never recovers from that turbulent period of their life. It is often at such times that family dynamics take a nosedive and fragmentation rules until the eventual birth of grandchildren. Sounds familiar?
During this defining period when everyone tries to assert their authority, issues big and small become shouting matches between the teen and the father. The mother on the other hand is often found crying on the kitchen table. Frustration brings out our worst. We feel that nothing will work and that the world is blame for wrecking our lives.
Maybe the solution is to put life in its proper perspective.
We also as adults have a Heavenly Father. Our Father felt the same way at our creation as we parents did about our brand new child. From birth the Father cared for us through His angel having great expectancy about our future which was also planned from the beginning. When we self-righteously react to our frustration with our teens, maybe we should try to have a reality check about our standing with our own Father. We need to remember that to Him, we are creatures of sin. If we carefully listen, we may hear Him cry those tears of frustration as He sees us reaping the results of our disobediences when He tried so hard all along to teach us to live a more Godly life but we wouldn’t listen. We would realize then the patience He has for us in His sorrow is an attitude which should exemplify ours.
So before we are ready to fly off the handle with our children, those in and those out of the nest, let us set our frazzled emotions into perspective by checking ourselves with our own Father. The wrath of man doesn’t accomplish the righteousness of God, the apostle said. Sorrow on the other hand, may work the perfect work of experience and conviction.
No comments:
Post a Comment