"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." Romans 5:12Question #30 of the Westminster Shorter Catechism asks, "What befell our first parents when they sinned?" Answer: "Instead of being holy and happy, they became sinful and miserable."
As fathers, God has called us to raise our children for their own good. When a child sins, he is going against God. A child cannot be joyful in this condition. We are often tempted to ignore sin in our children saying to ourselves, "It was just a little thing" or, "My child is too young to understand" or, "I will deal with it later". Sin is a big deal. It is offensive to God and it should also be offensive to us; both our children's sin and our own.
Back to the answer to the catechism question...
"Instead of being holy and happy, they became sinful and miserable."
It is not always easy to know if an action is sinful or not, but when a child is miserable, it is easy. There is sin involved. If a child is sick, he is uncomfortable and in pain, but he does not have to have his joy taken away and have it replaced with misery. Just remember Paul and Silas being beaten, thrown in prison, and put in the stocks. (Acts 16:23-25) What did they do in this condition that most people would call "Miserable"? They were no doubt uncomfortable, but their joy was not taken away. (Verse 25) They prayed and sang praises to God. If a child needs comforting, then comfort him, but do not help Satan take away his joy by indulging his sin. Deal with it.
No comments:
Post a Comment