Consequences

Aug 26, 2010

It's a sad thing. I have to warn my son of the consequences of his actions when he disobey me. If you don't drink milk, you will have weak bones. If you don't brush your teeth, bacteria will grow there. If you don't eat carrots, you will go blind at night. A lot of ifs and thens. I am afraid it will instill a spirit of fear in him and fearful of consequences. Not a good thing.

We adult drink milk to strengthen our bones. We adults brush our teeth to have good hygiene. We adults eat carrots because vitamin A is good for night vision. We do all those things because we know it is good for us. Kids don't understand what's good for themselves and we adults have to step in and push them to do the things that they don't like. We don't want to instill a spirit of fear. But if we don't, they will not do it.

As christians, we are not afraid of death. If death has lost its sting, what fear do we have? We ought to live fearlessly. But that belief is too difficult for kids to understand.

Any advice anyone on this?