Parenting Skills

I read something in 1 Samuel the other day that made me go, "Ooooo..." 1 Samuel 2 talks about Eli's two wicked sons, and it mentions that Eli rebukes them for their wickedness. 1 Samuel 3:13 says, "...his sons made themselves contemptible, and he failed to restrain them."

I know this isn't an exact parallel here, but it did strike me. There are so many times that I find myself fussing at Luke from the other room, never really intending to go to him and make him obey. It's almost as if it's all for pretense, so I feel like I'm at least "doing something" when I'm too tired or wrapped up in my task to really do something.

The result of Eli's lax parenting? 1 Samuel 2:31-33 "The time is coming when I will cut short your strength and the strength of your father's house, so that there will not be an old man in your family line and you will see distress in my dwelling. Although good will be done to Israel, in your family line there will never be an old man. Every one of you that I do not cut off from my altar will be spared only to blind your eyes with tears and to grieve your heart, and all your descendants will die in the prime of life."

Wow. That's harsh.

Now, like I said, it's not an exact parallel, but I do know one thing. My job as mom is more than the loving, kissing, hugging and fussing. It's training my children to obey my word and honor my instruction so that they will one day choose to obey the word of the Lord and honor Him. It's for their safety but also for this: I don't want them to miss the good done by the Lord in their day.