Lately I have found myself correcting my children with irritation when one of them gets angry with another. Since the thesaurus lists irritation as a synonym for anger, this would mean that I am living just what the following proverb prohibits:
"Do not answer a fool according to his folly,
Or you will also be like him." (Proverbs 26:4)
When one of my children is frustrated or exasperated (also synonyms for anger), they don't need the same from me. They need to see that there is another way to respond to being wronged--God's way. They need to be corrected by me with gentleness, self-control, humility and meekness.
The Bible articulates what we all know deep down to be true: "Wrath is fierce and anger is a flood" (Proverbs 27:4a). Anger destroys whatever is in its path. Look closely at the butterfly above if you haven't already. This poor creature that I caught on film (so to speak in the digital age) was managing to float from flower to flower but in a torn, wounded condition. I don't want to be a mom who shreds her children's souls with anger. In addition, the Bible teaches that "...the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God" (James 1:20). My angry response to their anger is NOT going to help my children become Christlike. Since that is the ultimate goal of my parenting, I must think before I speak and be like my Saviour, rather than imitating the child who just demonstrated anger.
No comments:
Post a Comment