19th Century evangelist Dwight L. Moody told the following story: “The story is told that a man once said he would not talk to his son about religion; the boy should make his own choice when he grew up, unprejudiced by him.
“The boy broke his arm, and when the doctor was setting it, he cursed and swore the whole time. The father was quite grieved and shocked.
“Ah,” said the doctor, “you were afraid to prejudice the boy in the right way, but the devil had no such prejudice. He has led your son the other way.
“The idea that a father is to let his children run wild! Nature alone never brings forth anything but weeds.”
I’m interested in knowing if you agree or disagree.
Tags: children, Moody, obedience
Mrs. B. L. Stumbaugh submitted this story to Reader’s Digest some time back:
“My 16-year old son’s room was always a mess. I told him he couldn’t go out with his friends until he had cleaned half of it.
“Just a few minutes later, he was heading for the front door, whistling. When I confronted him, he said, “But, Mom, you told me it didn’t matter which half I cleaned, so I cleaned the top half!”
We get frustrated with our kids when they want to take short cuts, but I wonder if Father God gets just as frustrated with us when we take short cuts in our obedience to Him.
What short cuts have you seen your kids make?
Tags: children, obedience