I am an art Teacher with 14 years experience in working with children. I have chosen to run my art classes in a love and praise atmosphere. I have found as a result this has brought so much joy and peace into many children’s lives. The children come for art classes and don’t go home. All I do is love them and praise them. This environment creates an opportunity to build their self esteem and validate who they are.
The world is full of parents and teachers who hurt children, that I guess my art class is an environment where they feel secure and loved. We go out of the way to make sure no one is hurt in any way shape or form.
You could say that I have the children only for an hour without all the tantrums, bad moods and crankiness that children have. Yes, whilst that is true I believe that if you have chosen to have a child it is your responsibility to nurture love and look after them.
Let us look at some bad parenting in the Bible so that we learn not to go down that road. As parents we must change the way we do things so that we raise good citizens in today’s society.
One thing I have learned is that I don’t need to know the parents of my students because from the way the children behave I can say quite a lot about the parents parenting skills.
The story of Esau and Jacob’s sibling rivalry exposes parental failure.
Esau you could say was a sportsman and Jacob a nerd or quiet sort of chap. It is obvious even though they were twins they were like chalk and cheese.
If you look closely on the parenting skills that Rebekah and Jacob had it was seriously bad. This is what I found…
1. They were not united – Rebekah helped Jacob steal a blessing through deception
2. They did not love unconditionally – Isaac loved based on the sons bringing him game. Because Jacob wasn’t the sporty type he was not loved as much as Esau was.
3. They were selfish – Isaac wanted his sons to prove themselves before he could love them
4. They created rivalry through favouritism – Rebekah loved Jacob and Issac loved Essau
In this story the parents messed up so much that eventually both sons ended up becoming rebellious. One married a Hittite woman and she caused so much trouble for her mother in law Rebekah that she told Issac that couldn’t take it anymore, and she was worried Jacob might to the same. Genesis 26:34, 27:46.
When children rebel it’s because they are trying to prove something and saying I will show you or I will let you pay for what you have done to me. It’s funny at any age we are still our parents children and all our lives we will try to win their love or their approval at all costs.
When parents are self centered and only want their way or love if they can benefit them will leave a legacy of pain in the lives of their children.
The amazing thing is that God has given us a system that if worked properly would shape the world to be a better place. Parents are given children who are a heritage from God Himself and as parents you have the power to make or break the next generation.
If you feel you have failed as a parent or you favour one more than the other or even trying to live your dreams through your children have caused you to love them conditionally, it’s not too late to repent for your bad parenting. Ask the Lord to forgive you, ask your children to forgive you and ask God for the grace to make things better.
When did you last listen to your children’s dream and desires? When did you just hug them just because…. Do you know their likes and dislikes? Do you know if they are going through some kind of crisis or do you think everything is fine? Don’t wait till it’s too late before you make the change. Now is the time to make the right decision to become a good parent.
Let us pray, Father God I come to you because my parenting skills suck, I know you I haven’t been the parent you wanted me to be and my children have suffered for it. I ask for your wisdom and help, to make things different and to be able to love my children unconditionally. Forgive my selfishness and self centeredness. Lord help me to be a better parent. Thank you for hearing my prayer. In Jesus Name Amen.
