Daily Devotions
A Role Model for Parents
Title: A Role Model for Parents
Reading for August 17: Jeremiah 44-46
“But fear not, O Jacob my servant,
nor be dismayed, O Israel,
for behold, I will save you from far away,
and your offspring from the land of their captivity.
Jacob shall return and have quiet and ease,
and none shall make him afraid.
Fear not, O Jacob my servant,
declares the Lord,
for I am with you.
I will make a full end of all the nations
to which I have driven you,
but of you I will not make a full end.
I will discipline you in just measure,
and I will by no means leave you unpunished.”
Jeremiah 46:27-28
One of the hardest things we as parents do is to decide what a just discipline is for our children. We know the many scriptures and scriptural principles that support the idea of discipline, and even discipline that is painful (Prov 12:1; 13:24; 15:32; 22:15; 23:13; 29:15). Yet, there are also warnings in scripture about "provoking your children to wrath" (Eph 6:4; Col 3:21), and that can be done through being too harsh in discipline.
What has helped me is to study parents who were successful in raising respectful and obedient children. I've watched how they speak to their children when correcting them and how they respond when their authority is challenged. I try to pick up on the tone of their voice, the severity of their punishments, the way they reinforce and applaud good behavior, etc.
Of course, there is no better parent to imitate than our heavenly Father. He always disciplines "in just measure" as our text here says. I've learned that reading the story of Israel in the Old Testament is a kind of training manual for parents. We should all study our God and use him as a role model for how we discipline our children.
Father, thank you for giving us your own example to follow as parents.
