What Jesus Said About Fathers and Mothers Causing Spiritual WoundsSample

Fathers and mothers who inflict wounds

Authoritarian fathers/mothers

That is fathers and mothers who reign with rules and regulations, threatening with right and wrong. Children experience no freedom, only instructions. They do not develop spiritually. Creativity is crushed; they do not learn to think for themselves, don't trust themselves to make any decisions, and do not develop their own identity. They will find it challenging to love people and to love God. They will fear God unhealthily and struggle to experience a sense of freedom or explore new things. They will constantly think about what they may have done wrong and expect God to punish them – seeing God as a cosmic policeman who is always looking for an opportunity to catch them doing something wrong.

Fathers/mothers who break their promises

This leads to children who do not trust authority figures. Such children develop despair, continuous disappointment, no expectation of anything positive, and passivity set in. Some develop a controlling personality – they try to find stability, and the only way they feel they can do this is to control their circumstances and dominate other people.

Joyless fathers/mothers

Such parents go through without joy and laughter. They wear a cloak of heaviness with them. Nothing excites them. Few things interest them. One day is like the other, and there are often no dreams or positive future expectations. The children become depressed and lifeless with a rigid view of life; they will be bored with life, have no goals or plans, and have little initiative or desire to achieve anything.

Sarcastic fathers/mothers

Such fathers and mothers often speak the truth, but from their own perspective and in an abusive, negative, and derogatory way. Children of such fathers experience humiliation and quickly become disheartened and uncertain about how to do things. Their self-confidence will be destroyed. There is no encouragement, reassurance, or space for making mistakes and learning from them. They struggle to expect God to love them unconditionally, try to avoid God for fear of being scolded or rejected, or that they are not acceptable to God.