Parenting ScripturesНамуна

"The Best Parenting Book Ever!"

While I've written a couple of books on gentle parenting, I know that the real power to change isn’t going to be found in a parenting book, but in the good book. R. C. Sproul said it this way: 

“I think the greatest weakness in the church today is that almost no one believes that God invests His power in the Bible. Everyone is looking for power in a program, in a methodology, in a technique, in anything and everything but that in which God has placed it—His Word. He alone has the power to change lives for eternity, and that power is focused on the Scriptures.” (R. C. Sproul, The Prayer of the Lord)

For us to have a Godly perspective in our parenting, we must know God’s perspective on parenting. And God allows us to know His thoughts on all things when we spend time with Him in His Word. Of course, the tendency amidst our daily parenting challenges is to base our methodologies on blog posts, tweets, and hashtags, but we need a solid foundation upon which to stand—a Scriptural bedrock upon which to parent. A verse here and a verse there, mixed into the pot of our world’s ever-changing philosophies won’t help us to stand firm. A double-minded man cannot wield a double-edged sword.  

The imagery of that “two-edged sword” in Hebrews 4:12, is that of a surgeon’s scalpel. Small and light and balanced in the Great Physician’s hand. He wields it carefully, dividing the healthy part of our thinking and speaking and parenting, from that which is diseased and harmful and needs to go!  

Recently my husband and I have been trying to figure out how to parent one of our children in the area of discontentment. It’s exhausting to have a teenager constantly battling for more and more. It’s easy to snap and say the wrong thing at the wrong time and turn his struggle into our struggle with him. But it doesn’t need to be a fight with him, when what we need is to fight for him. This can be done when we stop reacting quickly and turn instead to the Word of God to influence our words. 

Perhaps there are words in your vocabulary with your toddler or your teen that need to go. You need surgery; you need that scalpel. And the beautiful thing is that God isn’t just a heart surgeon, He’s a reconstructive surgeon too. He doesn’t just cut out the ugly and leave us with a gaping wound. His Word cuts out the sickness and then plants health and wholeness in its place. 

Let’s believe Hebrews 4:12 today, get into God’s living and active Word, and allow Him to transform the way we speak to our children when they do wrong. We can do right when they do wrong. With the help of God’s Word, we can choose better words!

This 5-day devotional is inspired by the new book, Parenting Scripts: When What You're Saying Isn't Working, Say Something New. For 31 days, Amber Lia and Wendy Speake walk parents through some of the most common family struggles. From bedtime-struggles to teenage defiance, lying, and laziness. One chapter at a time they craft a script for you to try with your children—a script based on the teaching of Scripture. With God’s Word guiding our words, we can do right even when our kids do wrong. Join Amber and Wendy for practical help, and figure out what to say, when what you’re saying isn’t working.