Parenting: The 14 Gospel PrinciplesSample

Lost

Here’s a thought that has the ability to change the way you think about what God has called you to as a parent.

It provides a very different way of interpreting those moments when your kids are driving you nuts or when they seem intent on resisting you. It will help you not to personalize things that at the core are not personal at all. This thought can keep you from allowing yourself to think that your son got up with the single-focused intention to wreck your day. It explains why you have to deal with things not just once, but over and over again. And this thought reinforces the significant spiritual nature of your role in the lives of your children.

Here’s the thought that is vital to consider: In parenting you’re not just dealing with your child’s wrong behaviors but his condition.

—Paul David Tripp