Family…God created
Deuteronomy 5:16 ‘Honor your father and mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may be well with you in the long, and that it may be well with you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you.
Psalm 1:1-6 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits win the seat of the scornful: but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper. The ungodly are not so, but like the chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment.-, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. But the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish.
Psalm 127:3-5 Children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them; they shall not be ashamed, but shall speak with their enemies in the gate.
Proverbs 1:7-8 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. My son, hear the instruction of your father, and so not forsake the law of your mother. . .
Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart
Romans 12:17-19 Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as it depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, ” says the Lord.
Ephesians 6:1-4 Children, obey your parents, in the LORS, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise: “so that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.” And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the LORD.
Colossians 3:18-21 Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the LORD. Husbands, love your wives, and do not be bitter toward them. Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the LORD. Fathers, do not provoke your children lest they become discouraged.
Jesus said before He died that we would have troubles, anxieties and stresses in this world. Somehow, at least in our country, we will often say “that’s just so not fair.” But there is nothing that says fairness is due to any Because we have a country that has been blessed with so much, and have been considered the wealthiest country in the world for a while, we tend to be more impatient, spoiled, and demanding. I have contact with a child in Kenya, and they have very little. She goes to school but her education is so far behind our children who are 11 years old. Writing looks more like a child of five years old in our country.
Years ago, disciplined classes were to teach arithmetic, spelling, reading, history, and children of all different ages were together in a one room school. The original prime readers consisted of bible verses. The teacher was responsible for educating all ages, helping them to become proficient at reading, understanding and processing the meaning of what they had read, and doing math problems, understanding fractions and so forth. After all, if was the cost was $0.89 for a pound of sugar, how much was it if you only wanted a 1/3 of a pound? People had to be able to do the arithmetic to prevent themselves from being over-charged, to know they were getting a fair deal and not being over-charged. to spend with his son and family–the son is too busy. deal.
Years ago, most children were much more respectful. They could be disciplined by the grocer, by anyone whom they had treated a little snippy or had misbehaved toward. The townsfolk all know one another, and although it was primarily the parents who handled most of the discipline, it was welcome for one neighbor to tell of a problem they had had, so the parents could discipline properly. In our neighborhood, we knew all the mothers were on the lookout for misbehaving, and if one of their children was caught doing something wrong with another neighbor child–the parents were notified. It kept us accountable and respectful in how we talked with all adults. I think many are not raised that way unless they have some church and biblical teaching.
But we are now not always respectful, and our stresses have increased as work pressures increase as many have come to believe that we are entitled to what we want, when we want it, we are entitled to money, and tend to work and work for success. Even young college kids graduating from college believe they are entitled to big bucks in their jobs. They do not seem to realize that you still have to prove yourself. And just proving yourself in school does not mean you will work well with clients; and certainly not that you should deserve the same rate of pay that someone who has been with the company for a number of years is receiving.
In this day and age people work long and sometimes longer hours. This is its own burden–spousal complaints, your children growing up as strangers. You were working so much you missed their accomplishments at 2 years old, 4, and then being out on the soccer field or the baseball field and making some sports accomplishments. Hearing about them later is NOT the same as being there, praising them then and there. And scholastics, you need to see the pride and satisfaction of reaching an accomplishment. Missing out on these times and moments have a cost. And once the moment has passed, all your “Wish I could have been there to see that, but I had to work.” Just like the Cat Stevens song of the son begging for some of Dad’s time and attention, and then when father is elderly and having the time to spend with his son and the son’s family. All this work and stress and little involvement with family is NOT God’s plan.
God created family–children should be taught respect, should be taught God’s Laws, and for children honoring parents, no stealing, no lying, and no coveting and so forth. But much of this has been apparently been thrown aside, sadly. Even in my own family, I see the grandkids not involved in a church, and sports are the religion they diligently work at–with the parents encouragement and praise. And sports are great–but not to the exclusion of learning who Jesus is, about the creation and God’s plan, and so forth. When the subject is brought up, there is a shrug all around, and the response is, “We will get involved later.” And each Sunday you were in a pew and listening to a sermon. But they have all lost that priority of church involvement. It breaks my heart. What is something horrific happens? An accident that may be life threatening? What if there is a death? You cannot have the assurance that your loved one–spouse, child is spending eternity in heaven and with Jesus instead of perishing daily in hell.
A woman in Texas, in 1963, politicked to have the Lord’s Prayer removed from schools. And things seemed to get more chaotic and disrespectfulness seemed to sprout forth. Entitlement, impatience, and bullying seemed to grow more rampant–yes, there had been always been some who always were brutish, but it seemed to me that after this removal of the Lord’s Prayer, things became more violent and disrespectful.
There has been an increase in violence, self-centered bullying, stealing from others for selfish reasons, hurting others in many different manners–physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional and mental abuse, and now how common although still sickening, is it to hear of another school massacre? For me, things began worsening while I was still in school, third grade, to be exact. I remember most young people I went to school with — although, not all, were polite and respectful when adults addressed them. It is not uncommon, although certainly not all children, but common enough to hear fresh talk from a young child, or brash, anger comes spewing forth–which I am sure they are hearing from a parent or caregiver. But what are we doing to our children.
Murderers have been around for a long time–Jack the Ripper, Boston Strangler, Baton Rouge Serial Killer, and many more. The US leads the world in serial killers–some estimates the US have over 3600 since 1900. A 2020 analysis showed the US with 3613 serial killers, while Great Britain had 196. What has happened in our country that we have such an idea of entitlement, that we can take what we want (steal) from others, and can so easily take lives. Lives. The life is in the blood–and it is spilled so callously here. It’s sad and appalling.
Our country was founded on many people fleeing their countries of origin to be able to learn more about Christ, to express their religion, to delve further in to the bible and reading for themselves the Bible. Obviously, that is not how all people came here–some were convicts and sent from their country to Australia, the New World and several others. They were put on ships and sent away–but it was those looking for a new start, a better life, and again, convicts–often one who had gotten caught stealing a bit of food–bread, fruit, or something small to help their family. But our country offered new hope; and IF one survived the journey, they had a new start.
It offered new hope for most who traveled here. And as areas were settled, schools were built, the earliest reading primers were from the Bible–verses to teach them how to read, to sound out words, to learn meanings of what they read, as well as helping parents with the command that parents teach their children. This is one of God’s Laws for us to follow. Teach the children who He is, the Creator of the world and all this is in it–including stars, sun, moon, mountains, trees, oceans, lakes and all the beauty throughout the world. Most of the people who transported here had hopes, dreams, and were willing to work for them. There was no sense of entitlement, but there was the knowledge there would be hard work, but success seemed like it could be a reality.
I would love to see a country-wide revival. I would love to see my family learn who He is and fall to their knees in repentance and gratitude. We are promised no next day–and only God knows our last. I want to be right with Him when my last arrives. God, I thank you for all you have done for me, for my family, and I pray for their selfishness and arrogance, and living in the moment of “fame” changes and they all come to realize You are the Way, the Truth, the Light, and the Life. Thank You, Lord, that You chose, and I followed–and will continue for all who do not yet know You. Thank You for all you have done for me and’mybellaviews.’
Lord, You chose me–still a sinner, but I can turn to You, confess, and ask the Holy Spirit to not give up and help–once again–control my sins. I am so blessed You have always had Your loving Hands on my and ‘mybellaviews.’
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