IMITATE JEHOVAH WHEN TRAINING YOUR CHILDREN

Be Reasonable

When giving ear to their children, parents must be reasonable and reflect "the wisdom from above."  (James 3:17)  "Let your reasonableness become known to all men,"  wrote the apostle Paul.  (Philippians 4:5)  What does it mean to be reasonable?  One definition of the Greek word translated "reasonableness" is "not insisting on the letter of the law."  While upholding firm moral and spiritual standards, how can parents be reasonable?

Jehovah sets an outstanding example in reasonableness.  (Psalm 10:17) When he urged Lot and his family to leave the doomed city of Sodom, Lot "kept lingering."  Later, when Jehovah's angel asked him to escape to the mountainous region, Lot said:  "I am not able to escape to  the mountainous region . . .Please,now,this city [Zoar] is nearby to flee there  and it is a small thing.  May I, please, escape there-Is it not a small thing?"  How did Jehovah react  to this?  He said:  "Here I do show you consideration to this extent also, by my not overthrowing the city of which you have spoken."  (Genesis 19:16-21, 30)  Jehovah was willing to consent to Lot's request. Yes, parents need to adhere to the standards that Jehovah God sets out in his Word, the Bible.  Still, it might be possible to accommodate the young one's wishes when Bible principles are not jeopardized.

Being reasonable includes preparing the children's heart so that they are ready to accept counsel.  In an illustrative way, Isaiah compared Jehovah to a farmer and said:  "Is it all day long that the plower plows in order to sow seed, that he loosens and harrows his ground?  Does he not, when he has smoothed  out its surface, then scatter black cumin and sprinkle the cumin, and must he not put in wheat,millet and barley in the appointed place, and spelt as his boundary?" -Isaiah 28:24, 25.

Jehovah "plows in order to sow seed"  and "loosens and harrows his ground."  He thus prepares the heart of his people before disciplining  them.  In correcting their children, how can parents  'plow' their offspring's heart?   One father imitated Jehovah when correcting his four -year-old boy.  When his son hit a neighbor boy, the father first listened patiently to his son's excuses. Then, as if to 'plow' the son's heart, the father told a story of a little boy who suffered terrible hardship at the hands  of a bully.  Upon hearing the story the boy was  moved to say that the bully must be punished.  Such 'plowing' prepared the boy's heart and made it easier for him to see that hitting the neighbor boy was the act of a bully and was wrong. -2 Samuel 12:1-14.

 A sledge or cart wheel is used for grains with tougher chaff. Still, he will not tread the harder grains to the point of crushing them.  Likewise , when Jehovah wants to remove anything undesirable in his people, he varies his treatment according to existing needs and circumstances.  He is never arbitrary or heavy-handed.  (Isaiah 28:26-29) Some children respond to just a glance from their parents, and nothing more is needed.  Others require repeated reminders, while still others may need persuasion of a stronger kind.  Reasonable parents will apply correction according to the individual child's needs.

Next time: Make Family Discussions Enjoyable

Watchtower, 2001