A quote from a pretty good article by Zig Ziglar. “Zig On…When the Motive Is Love. I’m sure I can find areas where I disagree with Ziglar, but I think the general philosophy he expresses in this article is very similar to my own. The homes of our nation are in disarray, including many Christian homes. May our mothers and fathers learn to be parents and fulfill all their Biblical responsibilities.
“…We have no idea how many times they wanted us to say no because they didn’t want to be put in bad circumstances or how many times they just didn’t want to do what was being asked. But we do know that sometimes children need help in saying no.”
This is the way it was for me when I was growing up. My dad told us to “blame” him any time we needed to and he was always there to help us in any way he could. I wish I could say I hadn’t needed the help in saying “No” but at times I did and I was always so glad and relieved to know he would willingly accept the blame.
My parents wanted to “get along” with us but we always knew they were the “parent” or final decision maker –and that it was because they loved us.
Hi Marla
I hope I don’t give the impression that it doesn’t matter if you get along with your kids or not. But we have observed many who seem to desperately want their kids to like them so they cater to them at every turn. The result is that the kids often don’t like their parents and certainly don’t respect them.
Maranatha!
Don Johnson
Jer 33.3
I didn’t get that impression. I simply meant that while my parents has hopes or expectations of getting along, in the end it didn’t matter since they were going to make the decision they felt best/right for us regardless of whether we “liked” them for it.