Addressing The Heart
The heart directs behavior. Behavior comes from what's inside all of us (Luke 6:45). We can't forget principles of communication from chapters 8-10. We must help children figure out why they commit sin.
Appealing To The Conscience
Change in the heart begins with conviction of sin. Conviction of sin comes through the conscience. The conscience is affected by God's Word and a child's awareness of their relation to God. Jesus forced people to judge their own motives (ie. Good Samaritan parable and in Luke 10, the lawyer). The conscience is our ally (Romans 2:14-15). It accuses or excuses. Dealing with the conscience helps a child to avoid a set of rules they can keep and forces them to deal with God, not you. When they become aware of the sinfulness then we point them to Jesus, the Savior.
Develop Character
Character is living with who God is and who I am.
Training Character - We must call our children to be holy in reference to God. Apart from God they'll be able to achieve a "standard" of perfection. But when compared to God they'll see their sin. We don't want to train them to see no need for God.
Interpreting Behavior In Character Terms
Character must be addressed in long-term goals. We cannot say that a fight over a toy is just a fight over a toy. There's a heart issue being manifested in character. It is selfishness. Our insight towards our children's behavior must see things this way. They are not things they'll grow out up. We must shepherd their hearts.
A Long-Term Vision
We must think not about here and now only, but long-term. Example: addressing cranky morning behavior is important. How do we address that? Do we remind them to be grateful for the life God has given? Do we remind them that God says to do all things without grumbling or complaining? Do we remind them that Christ died for such sin? Do we encourage them to have an attitude of worship upon waking?
No comments:
Post a Comment