Counting the Blessings of Paying the Cost
(^) In business, it is customary to run a cost vs. benefit analysis. The
purpose of an analysis is to ascertain if the benefits (in our case—
blessings) are great enough to justify the cost. Let us now consider
some of the real blessings for which we incur these costs.
Parent-Child Relationship
(^) Full-orbed, rich, multi-faceted communication is the cement that
holds a parent and a child together. Communication will provide the
context for a growing unity with your children. Children know when
they have a relationship with people who are wise and discerning,
who know and understand them, who love and are committed to them.
They will know if you know the ways of God, understand life and
people in the world, and are prepared to carry on a relationship of
integrity and security. There will be times of disagreement or
conflict, but disagreement can be resolved in a relationship of open
communication.
(^) Pressures of the teen years pull children away from home. This is
the time when they develop camaraderie with those who “understand
them.” They are looking for relationships in which someone knows,
understands, and loves them. Your children should not have to leave
home for that. You can provide family relationships in which your
children are understood and embraced.
(^) The attraction the “wrong crowd” holds is not a license for being
bad. The attraction of the “wrong crowd” is camaraderie. Children
long to be known, understood, discipled and loved.
(^) I think of biblical childrearing in the following terms:
(^)