Malachi 4:5-6 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.” (ESV)
It is God’s heart to restore proper family relationships. However, what we are witnessing now is the devil’s preemptive strike against the unity of families. The enemy has several specific strategies, and over the next month I am going to expose them.
ASSAULT AGAINST AUTHORITY
The first assault is against the relationships between parents and children. Exemplified in the parental misunderstanding of authority. The goal of parenting is to invest in a child in a manner that creates an individual who is an independent critical thinker, a creative, a problem solver and firm in their identity. Many parents have never seen such a model. They do the best in which they can, which is to train up their child to be obedient. This is something akin to trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. As a result, the child will generally rebel as they struggle to figure out who they are and what their purpose is. Proverbs 22:6 encourages parents to, “Train up a child in the way heshould go: and when he is old,hewill not depart from it.” Theemphasis on the child, not the parent. If you have more than one child, you quickly come to realize none of them are the same. Each child needs to be raised according to the way they, “should go.” The devil is trying to steal the parent’s attention so they will be unable to determine how to raise the child according to their “way,” or the way that they are wired by God.
ASSULT AGAINST MATURITY
The second strategy the enemy has employed is the failure of the parent to voluntarily mature to the place of a consultant. As a child reaches the place of independence the healthy parent becomes a resource for wisdom, experience and emotional support. Unhealthy parenting wants the relationship to remain the same throughout the life of the child. These parents still tell children what to do and how to do it through the duration of their lifetime. Immaturity has driven a wedge between many parents and children. It can only be removed by the parent making the transition from overseer to peer.
When the schemes of authority or maturity are impacting your relationship with your children, then it is time to repent. Holy Spirit can help us change old ways of thinking and supports us as we do what we could not do on our own.
It is God’s heart to restore proper family relationships. However, what we are witnessing now is the devil’s preemptive strike against the unity of families. The enemy has several specific strategies, and over the next month I am going to expose them.
ASSAULT AGAINST AUTHORITY
The first assault is against the relationships between parents and children. Exemplified in the parental misunderstanding of authority. The goal of parenting is to invest in a child in a manner that creates an individual who is an independent critical thinker, a creative, a problem solver and firm in their identity. Many parents have never seen such a model. They do the best in which they can, which is to train up their child to be obedient. This is something akin to trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. As a result, the child will generally rebel as they struggle to figure out who they are and what their purpose is. Proverbs 22:6 encourages parents to, “Train up a child in the way heshould go: and when he is old,hewill not depart from it.” Theemphasis on the child, not the parent. If you have more than one child, you quickly come to realize none of them are the same. Each child needs to be raised according to the way they, “should go.” The devil is trying to steal the parent’s attention so they will be unable to determine how to raise the child according to their “way,” or the way that they are wired by God.
ASSULT AGAINST MATURITY
The second strategy the enemy has employed is the failure of the parent to voluntarily mature to the place of a consultant. As a child reaches the place of independence the healthy parent becomes a resource for wisdom, experience and emotional support. Unhealthy parenting wants the relationship to remain the same throughout the life of the child. These parents still tell children what to do and how to do it through the duration of their lifetime. Immaturity has driven a wedge between many parents and children. It can only be removed by the parent making the transition from overseer to peer.
When the schemes of authority or maturity are impacting your relationship with your children, then it is time to repent. Holy Spirit can help us change old ways of thinking and supports us as we do what we could not do on our own.
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