SOMEONE SENT THIS TO ME AND SAID “ORESSA YOU NEED TO POST THIS” HMMM did I do something to my son? PARENTS PROVOKE NOT YOUR CHILDEREN TO ANGER Ephesians 6:4 Parents provoke their children to wrath by various means too. Over my years as a pastor, I have observed many different ways parents have done this. Avoid all of them. Here are just a few examples: And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. 1) Unkindness Some parents provoke their children with unkindness. I cringe when I hear parents deliberately saying mean-spirited things to their children. But many parents do, it seems—and to compound the problem, they often seem to do it in public. I’ve overheard parents saying things to their own children they would never say to anyone else. That’s a sure way to crush a child’s heart and provoke him to resentment. 2) Favoritism Another way parents provoke their kids is by showing favoritism. Isaac favored Esau over Jacob, and Rebeka preferred Jacob over Esau (Gen. 25:28). The resentment their favoritism provoked caused a permanent split in the family (Gen. 27). But Jacob made the same mistake with his own children, showing such favoritism to his youngest, Joseph, that Joseph’s brothers plotted to do away with him (Gen. 37). Although God sovereignly brought about much good from what happened to Joseph (Gen. 50:20), that doesn’t change the fact that Jacob and his family had to endure much sorrow, heartache, and evil because of the chain of events that began with Jacob’s favoritism.
Posted on: Fri, 21 Mar 2014 18:40:19 +0000