Week 2 of 7 Amazing “Shareworthy” Things the Bible Teaches About Parenting

Parent Encouragement series week 2

For whom the Lord loves He corrects,
Just as a father the son in whom he delights.
Proverbs 3:12

It was June 2010, and my wife and I were about to have our first child. We were having dinner with my dad, so I decided to ask for some wisdom. I asked my dad to give me the best parenting advice he had from his decades of parenting.

He thought for a minute, and then gave me an analogy I’ll never forget. My dad said that parenting was like a scale—not like the one you weigh yourself on in the bathroom, but like the one you see as a symbol of justice. On one side you have love; on the other you have discipline. Applying either one too often without the other is harmful for your child.

My dad went on to explain that the more love you show to your child, the more they will accept your discipline. And, when you apply more discipline to them, you also need to let them know how much you love them. Too much love without discipline can make a child spoiled, and too much discipline without love can damage a child emotionally and drive them away.

Ever since that night, I’ve often thought about the correlation between correction and love. I believe that parents often feel bad when they discipline their children. It’s definitely not fun to do. It’s hard, but it’s good. So my encouragement to you is to apply appropriate levels of discipline to your child so that they will know you love them and care about them.

Just as we love our kids and need to discipline them, our Heavenly Father loves His children and will discipline them. If you have accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior, then God is your Father. You have been adopted into His family.

Brad Belyeu