Daily Devotions
Love & Boundaries
Title: Love & Boundaries
Reading for June 30: Proverbs 1-3
My son, do not despise the LORD's discipline
or be weary of his reproof,
for the LORD reproves him whom he loves,
as a father the son in whom he delights.
Proverbs 3:11-12
Back in high school a good friend asking me if I could do something with him over the weekend. I told him I couldn't because my mother had asked that I cut the grass.
He replied, sadly, "My mother would never ask me to cut the grass."
What?!
I couldn't believe my ears! He was never asked to cut the grass, and HE WAS UPSET ABOUT THAT!
His parents were divorced. It might be his mother was trying to win over his affection by being nice to him. No rules. No expectations. No discipline. No consequences for misbehavior.
It didn't work. My friend didn't appreciate his mother's low expectations at all. He interpreted her low expectations as evidence that she didn't love him.
Not surprisingly, my friend joined the army after high school, a place that offered him the structure. Perhaps he saw this structure as love.
Don't think that by making your child the center of your home that you are showing love. Children raised in this environment often end up despising their parents. Worse still, they end up hating themselves.
Your children don't need (or want) to be the center of the home. They want you to take control. They actually crave structure and boundaries. Boundaries provide security for them. Structure gives them a level of comfort and predictability. Above all, they want to respect you. They want to know that you love them enough to push back when they test your authority.
Father, thank you for boundaries. Thank you discipline. Thank you for loving us! Help us to show the same love to our children.
