A Crash Course in Christian Parenting - John MacArthur

8/13/2019 A Crash Course in Christian Parenting - John MacArthur

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The following message was delivered by John MacArthur Jr., of GraceCommunity Church in Sun Valley, California. t was transcribed from theta!e" #A Crash Course in Christian $arenting.# A co!y of the ta!e can beobtained by writing, %ord of Grace, $.&. 'o( )***, $anorama City, CA +)-or by dialing toll free /**00G1AC2.

A Crash Course in Christian Parentingby

John MacArthurCo!yright ++3

All 1ights 1eserved

Open your Bible to Ephesians, chapter 6. The key verse, really, here in the NewTestament that gives to us Gods design !or parenting, is verse ". #t simply says,$%nd you, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the disciplineand instruction o! the &ord.$ #ts a tremendous statement in that verse. #t, again,with an economy o! words, covers a vast !ield. Books, treatises, volumes'havebeen written on parenting. God has reduced it to one statement( $)o not provokeyour children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction o! the&ord.$ This is Gods pattern !or parenting.

%s we begin, # want us to remember something'its very important at the very

outset( as Gods redeemed people, we are called to be uni*ue. +e are called to bedi!!erent. +e are called to be distinct. +e are called to be separate !rom the world.#n !act, the whole epistle o! Ephesians points to the reality that we are not to live asthe rest o! the world lives. +e live in light, not darkness. +e live in wisdom, not!oolishness. +e walk in the pirit, not the !lesh. +e are uni*ue, then, because wehave the knowledge o! God, we have the +ord o! God, we have the pirit o! God,and God has called us to live in uni*ue and distinctive ways.

#n !act, that e-tends even to our relationships in the !amily. +e dont conductrelationships in the !amily the way unregenerate people do, the way the worlddoeswe have a completely di!!erent plan and pattern. #n &eviticus, chapter /0,

when God established the standard o! behavior !or #srael, 1e pointed out thisreality o! uni*ueness. This is what 1e said( $2ou shall not do what is done in theland o! Egypt, where you lived. Nor are you to do what is done in the land o!3anaan where # am bringing you. 2ou shall not walk in their statutes. 2ou are toper!orm 4y 5udgements and keep 4y statutes and to live in accord with them.$

#n other words, youre di!!erent. 2ou dont do the way the world does. 2ou dontconduct your lives or your relationships the way the world does. &ater in that sameeighteenth chapter o! &eviticus, God !urther says, $)o not de!ile yourselves by any


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o! these things, !or by all these, the nations which # am casting out be!ore you,have become de!iled. Thus, you are to keep 4y charge,$ or my command, $thatyou do not practice any o! the abominable customs which have been practicedbe!ore you, so as not to de!ile yoursel! with them. # am the &ord, your God.$ % callto be di!!erent a call to distinctiveness. God has maintained this desire !or 1is

people through all time.+e are separate. The standards, the principles, the statutes, the commandments,by which we conduct our lives be!ore God, in the !amily, and be!ore the world, areuni*ue. +e are separate. +e are to have an unde!iled uni*ueness. +e are to!ollow principles which are not, in any sense, assisted by human wisdom. Nor arethey re!ined or de!ined by human wisdom. +e are not to succumb to the pressureo! the world. +e are not to listen to the worlds diagnoses o! what might be wrongwith people or marriages or !amilies'we are to turn to the +ord o! God. +e are tolive distinctively. God is not saying anything di!!erent today 1es still saying, $)o it4y way.$

%nd, as !ar as the parenting role is concerned, that too is summed up magni!icentlyin that verse # 5ust read and herein lies Gods pattern. #t doesnt sound anything likemodern psychology. #t doesnt sound like the things that we have been told aboutchildhood education, about how to raise a child. #t doesnt sound anything like whatthe world is currently saying and it shouldnt because it is divine. +eve already!ound out that the pattern !or husbands is completely distinct !rom the world thepattern !or wives'completely distinct !rom the world, the pattern !or children inresponse to their parents is distinct and so is that !or parents in regard to theirchildren. This is not the message o! secular psychology, this is not the message o!conventional wisdom, this is not the message o! political correctness, this is the+ord o! God.

The place we have to begin is with the recognition that all children come !rom God.God gives them to us and then has given us the manual on how to raise them.Genesis "(/, $%nd she conceived,$ that is, Eve, $and bore 3ain and said, 7# havegotten a man !rom the &ord.$ %t the very outset, Eve knew who was the source o!her children. he went right past %dam, to God. #n Genesis "(89, the samechapter, later on, $he bore a son and called his name 7eth, !or God, she said,7has appointed me another seed. $3hildren,$ says the Old Testament, $are anheritage !rom the &ord.$ They are gi!ts !rom God. They are given to be to the praiseo! 1is glory and to be a blessing to us. But, how o!ten do children become aheartache and a heart break because Gods pattern !or parents is not properly

!ollowed:%s we look at the divine standard, then, we are looking at our responsibility andwere looking at the path to 5oy and blessing in the lives o! the children and in ourown lives as well. 3learly, the instruction here, in verse ", is given to parents. #n!act, the word $!athers$ is occasionally, in the New Testament, translated $parents.$+e cannot e-clude the mother at this particular point we must include her as shecomes under the leadership o! her husband. The instruction is given to the parents


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because they have the responsibility, the rule, the lead, the oversight, to bring theirchildren to the place where they will honor God.

Now, the standard that is established here is not only uni*ue in our society, but itwas uni*ue in ;auls as well.


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o! all children born wind up in !oster homes because theyre unwanted. 4illions arele!t at home alone to be raised by the television while their mothers go to work. Thechancellor o! New 2ork 3itys one million student school district, said, $ociety hasturned against children.$ Even our own president recently vetoedH a document thatwould haveH prevented late abortion. The sickening massacre o! children late

term, could have been prevented by that document'his vetoH obviated that sothat such abortions can take place. 1ostility towards children'in ancient times andeven in modern times.

%gainst that background o! ancient =oman society and the background in whichwe live today, we hear the words o! ;aul, $%nd !athers do not provoke your childrento anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction o! the &ord.$ %gain,

patera, the term $!athers$ is normally used !or the male head o! the !amily, butsometimes used to speak o! $parents.$ #t is so translated, !or e-ample, in 1ebrews//(8I, it says, $By !aith 4oses, when he was born, was hidden three months by hisparents.$ %nd certainly, the mother is involved with the !ather'we can e-tend ithere to include her. ;roverbs "(I shows this dual role. #t says, $# was my !athers

son, tender and only beloved in the sight o! my mother.$ ;roverbs /(0, $1ear theinstruction o! thy !ather, and !orsake not the law o! thy mother.$ Both parents areinvolved under the headship o! the husband, in the bringing up o! the child.

% study was conducted several years ago, covering a span o! years, bysociologists heldon and Eleanor Glick >sp.? !rom 1arvard and they identi!ied, a!terall o! this study, !our crucial !actors in predicting children who were not delin*uents.This was a multiyear study and it was !ound to be JF accurate. They said theseare the four essential factors to !revent delin4uency, 5ust purely !rom theobservation o! those worldly people(

/. The !athers discipline'!air, !irm, and consistent.8. The mothers supervision in the home, knowing where the children are allthe time, knowing what theyre doing, and being available to them.

I. The parents unceasing a!!ection, demonstrated to each other and to thechildren, !re*uently.

". The !amilys cohesiveness'time spent together.

Both parents must be involved in this wonder!ul privilege'this wonder!ulopportunity. %nd as we look at the thing itsel!, that is indicated here in the verse,youll notice theres a negative and then a positive in terms o! the instruction andwe want to consider both.

The negative is this, $)o not provoke your children to anger.$ Thats how the +ordo! God sums up what you dont want to do. 2ou dont want to make your childrenmad. 2ou dont want to make them angry. 2ou dont want to make them hostile orbitter. 2ou dont want them to turn against you and all that you hold dear.3olossians adds, $&est they be discouraged.$ 2ou dont want to destroy them.$;rovoke,$ you will notice, is used only here and in =omans /(/Jthat term and it


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means $to irritate.$ #ts an intense !orm o! $to make angry.$ )ont do that whichangers your children. )ont do that which irritates them, provokes them, !rustratesthem, e-asperates them, or embitters them. 4y, is there being a lot o! that donetoday'angry, sullen, bitter children.

Kust in the last !ew days, three little boys, one o! them si- years old, trying to kill a

monthold in!ant. Animaginable hostility and anger. Ten to !i!teen percent o!children have contemplated or tried suicide. One !ourth o! admissions to thepsychiatric unit o! childrens hospitals are suiciderelated. Even children as youngas si- and seven have tried to take their li!e. % &os %ngeles Times article !romsome years back, said, $The elevenyearold had slashed his wrists. $# want to goto heaven,$ he sobbed. $# cant stand these stomachaches and being unhappy'i!only # could die. #ts hard to live'living is horrible'# 5ust want to die becausenobody cares i! # die, so # 5ust want to die.$


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2ou can turn your child into a tragic child you can turn your children into a storylike that and it may not be because o! what you do to them, it most likely will bebecause o! what you dont do to them and !or them. 1ow can you provoke yourchild into tragedy: 1ow can you provoke your child into anger: 1ow can you get abitter, sullen, antisocial delin*uent:

1ere are some easy steps(

/. poil him. Give him everything he wants, even more than you can a!!ord'5ustcharge it'so you can get him o!! your back.

8. +hen he does wrong, nag him a little, but dont spank him.

I.


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#! you want an obsessive child, be critical, snobbish, domineering, legalistic. 2ouwant an accidentprone child( !ight with each other, ignore the child, and the childwill hurt himsel! to get your attentionand so it goes. The point is, you have thistreasure, you have this child and you can e-asperate that child. 1ow do parents dothat: #ve 5ust given you a little litany o! things that you can read about it in a typical

book on childraising, about how to raise a delin*uent.But, let me give you my own list here o! how to provoke a child to wrath. #m goingto give you this list rather rapidly so stick with it. Ten ways(

5umber one, by over!rotection.


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accomplish. Anderstand why a certain thing happened, why a certain behavioroccurred, why a certain incident went a certain way. Grant them a listening ear andan understanding heart and reward them graciously and generously with love. Givethem approval and honor and be patient with them or they get very de!eated anddiscouraged and that turns to anger.

9ou can !rovo:e your children to anger, number si(, by failing to sacrificefor them.#n other words, by making the child !eel like hes constantly an intrusioninto your li!e, constantly an interruption, always a botheryou want to do what youwant to do. 2ou and your husband want to go where you want to go'you 5ust !armthese kids out somewhere. &eave them. &et somebody else take care o! them.2oure not about to change your li!estyle'youre going to do what you want to do.2oure going to have your !un and your pleasure and the kids are 5ust going tohave to !end !or themselves. &eave them make them prepare their own meals.)ont take them places because you cant be bothered with them, and they willresent your being uncaring, unavailable, and sel!centered. One o! the things that#m so very thank!ul !or in my own !amily is ;atricias devotion to our children( all

the years when they were growing up in the home. 4any years when # had to begoing and traveling and she re!used to do that because she wanted to be withthose children all the time.

5umber seven, you can !rovo:e your children to anger by failing to allow forsome growing u!.+hat does that mean: &et them goo! up a little. &et them makemistakes. o they knocked something over at the table'laugh it o!!L They get dont*uite have the manual de-terity yet, or the coordination. Give them a little 5ob andthey do it in an unacceptable way, but its a little bit o! progress, commend them.&et them share some o! their ridiculous ideas. &et them plan some silly things to doand do them. )ont condemn them. Kust e-pect progress, not per!ection. The best

o! men are not per!ect.

The New 2ork Tech, many years ago, de!eated =ensselaer ;oly >;olytechnic?, 8/0. #n that game, the only =ensselaer touchdown was set up by a si-tythree yardpassplay, says the newspaper. On the play, there appeared to be a breakdown inthe Tech de!ense. The ne-t week, when reviewing the !ilms, Tech coach, 4artyenall >sp.?, noticed that the de!ensive back on the play, !reshman Kohn mith,stood !roCen on one spot while the =eceiver !lew by his !or the winning touchdown.$1ey mittyL +hy didnt you move:$ the coach yelled. $# couldnt. 4y contact lenshad 5ust popped out and # covered it with my !oot, waiting !or a time to put it back. #!# had le!t the spot, # never would have !ound it again in that grass. %nd, my parents

would have killed me !or losing itL$ Now, #m telling you, when youre in the $biggame$ and you live with that much !ear o! your parents, youve got a problem. &etyour kids !ail. Theyre going to lose things. 1ey, # remember when 4att !lushed mywatch down the toilet. # said, $+hy did you do that:$ 1e said, $# 5ust wanted to seewhat it would look like, going down.$ )id # spank him: No. #n !act, # wished #d havebeen there. #d like to see what it looked like when it was going down. %llowed !or alittle growing!or a !ew e-periments.


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5umber eight, you can !rovo:e your children to anger by neglect. #! theresany biblical illustration o! this, its probably )avid and %bsalom. )avid spent notime with him, no time shaping him, and %bsalom ultimately hated his !ather with apassion. 1e tried to pull a coup to dethrone his !ather and take his place. Neglect'and the worse kind o! neglect( lack o! consistent discipline. Thats the worst kind o!

neglect. #m not talking about the neglect o! time and things #m talking about theneglect o! discipline. Teach them, discipline themconsistently using the rod inlove.

5umber nine, you can !rovo:e your children to anger by abusive words. 2ouunderstand that a little child has a very limited vocabulary and you have a verycomprehensive one. Merbal abuse is a terrible thing. % barrage o! wellchosenwords !rom your adult vocabulary can cut that little heart to shreds. +hat is asdevastating as anything are words o! anger, words o! sarcasm, or words o! ridicule.


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li!e proceed !rom the heart. #n 4ark D, in verse 8/, Kesus said, $


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The issue is the heart and you have to understand that you have a sinner who isdepraved to the very core who needs salvation and !orgiveness and sancti!ication.2ou start by making that child aware o! a sin!ul condition and the 5udgment o! Godand, as # told you be!ore, you even make that child aware o! an eternal hell.

)ont 5ust train your child to be sel!controlled and learn to say $no$ when wanting

something train your child to understand temptation and resist it because the sinso! greed, and lust, and sel!ishness, and covetousness, and indulgence, dishonorGod and pander a wicked heart. ;unish !or the sin, but teach that the heart is theproblem. in!ul, unsaved, unsancti!ied children are ruled by the same e-act desiresthat their larger counterparts are. 2our children are ruled by lust o! the !lesh, lusto! the eyes, and pride o! li!e. Theyre sel!ish, sel!centered and they wanteverything they can see'now;

3orrect them, not to satis!y the o!!ended, irritated, !rustrated parent'thats anger,thats vengeance'but to satis!y God who has been o!!ended and God has not 5ustbeen annoyed and remind him that God who has been o!!ended seeks a

reconciliation with them through trust in Kesus 3hrist. This is the target o! allparenting. #ts the heart and it is salvation. This means reproo!, rebuke, correction,the use o! the rod'lovingly, but nonetheless consistentlyweve talked aboutthat. 2ou never use the rod, listen now, you never use the rod as punishment !orsin. Thats not your 5ob. 2ou never use the rod as payment !or sin. 2ou use the rodas correction to avoid payment at the hands o! God. %nd the rod has a veryimportant place.

This week # received a beauti!ul little letter !rom a young boy in our congregation, 0or J, named teven. This is what he wrote me, he gave me this last unday,$Thank you !or the birthday card,$ # sent him a birthday card as # do many o! the

children. $#t was very nice o! you to send me a card with your picture on it. # reallyliked your message on disciplining kids. One day, while getting spanked, my dadbroke his $switch.$ % !ew days later, # decided to make him a new $switch.$ #t endedup being bigger than # wanted it to be.$ # love thatL $# wish every pastor wouldpreach the word like you do. teven.$ # think teven understands, dont you: +hata sweet little guy to go make his !ather a $switch.$ $Bring them up.$ Bringing themup means targeting the heart.

&et me take you to a passage in the Old Testament that will !urther de!ine thisheartcentered instruction. #n )euteronomy, chapter 6, you have a very important!ormula given here !or the raising o! children. )euteronomy 6, is really a chapterinstructing parents. )own in verse D, it talks about teaching them diligently to your

sons. This is all about !amily instruction, a very, very important chapter. #t re!ers toinstructing sons again several times later in the chapter. Now, as you bring themup and as you teach them and as you instruct them, what do you teach them:

&ets start at the beginning, verse "(

/. The !irst thing you teach them in this section, $1ear, O #srael( the &ord is ourGod, the &ord is oneL$ The !irst thing you teach them is to recogniCe the true God


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and that 1e is sovereign. To recogniCe God, the one God, the &ord who is one.Thats the !irst thing( teach them about God.

8. econdly, verse 9, teach them to love God. $%nd you shall love the &ord yourGod with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.$ Thats thesecond essential in bringing them up.

I. Thirdly, verse 6, teach them to obey God. $%nd these words which # amcommanding you today shall be on your heart and you shall teach them diligentlyto your sons.$ Teach them about God. Teach them to love God with all their heartand soul and might and teach them to obey God, all his commands.

". Then !ourthly, teach them to !ollow your e-ample. Merse D, $2ou shall teachthem diligently to your sons and talk o! them when you sit in your house and whenyou walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up$ #n otherwords, show your children that at all times in your li!e, all e-periences in your li!e,on the tip o! your tongue always, is the +ord o! the &iving God. &et them see that

your li!e is dominated by divine truth.

&et them see all o! li!e as a classroom'every occasion in li!e, an opportunity toteachevery e-perience in li!e, an opportunity to point them to heaven. Everythingthat happens to them is a path back to cripture. Kesus was the absolute 4aster atdrawing spiritual reality !rom the world around him'!rom water, !rom !ig trees, !rommustard seeds, !rom birds, and bread, and grapes, and pearls, and wheat, andtares, and cups, and platters, and nets, and dinners, and vineyards, and !o-es, andmen, and women, and light, and darkeverything that happened in li!e opened upa window on divine reality. # must sensitiCe my children to see the hand o! God andhear the voice o! God and the $print$ o! God in every !lower, every rock, everymountain, the sea, the sky, the babbling brook, the whispering trees, the cricketschirp, the roaring water!all, the gentle slap o! the sur!, the !ragrance o! a !lower, saltair, little babies, !resh hot berries, hot buttered baked bread, a puppy, a s*uirrel,grandma, and on it goes. Everything in li!e is a classroom to draw them back toGod.

%lso, it is essential in bringing them up, verses 0 and J, that they be remindedrepeatedly about these truths. =eminded about the true God, about loving God,and about obeying God, and about !ollowing your e-ample. 1ow do you do it:$Bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as !rontlets on your !orehead.+rite them on the doorposts o! your house and on your gates.$ %ll o! that'simplyways to say keep the reminder going all the time, constantly, constantly, at all

times. 1ave it, as it were, at the !ront o! your mind. 1ave it right on your hands. ;utit on the doorposts o! your house and on your gates so that you are incessantlytaking them back to the truth o! God.

Then, one other lesson( teach them to be wary o! the world around them. Merseten, $Then it shall come about when the &ord your God brings you into the landwhich 1e swore to your !athers'%braham, #saac, and Kacob'to give you greatand splendid cities which you didnt build and houses !ull o! all good things which


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you didnt !ill and hewn cisterns which you didnt dig$ #n other words, theyregoing to take over a very advanced civiliCation already in place, $vineyards andolive trees which you didnt plant and you shall eat and be satis!ied. Then, watchyourself lest you !orget the &ord who brought you !rom the land o! Egypt out o! thehouse o! slavery.$ +arn your children that when they get out in the world and they

begin to see all thats there and they begin to touch, and taste, and e-plore, andsense, and e-perience, that they not !orget God. Teach them about the true God.Teach them to love 1im with all their heart, with all their soul, with all their might.Teach them to obey 1im. Teach them to !ollow your e-ample. how them that li!eis a classroom no matter what the scene. 3onstantly remind them o! those thingswhich are precious to them and to you and teach them to be wary o! the world.

+ith that in mind, we go back to Ephesians 6 and well draw this to a conclusion. #nEphesians chapter 6, a couple o! key wordsthe !irst one, $Bring them up in thediscipline,$ the Greek verb ispaideia, it means $to rear a child.$ #t involves training,instruction, learningit is used also in 1ebrews /8, in verses 9// o! $chastening$or $disciplining.$ #t essentially means $training$'it encompasses discipline. 1eres

what it really can be summed up to mean( en!orced con!ormity o! the heart and theli!e to God and 1is truth. 1ow do you en!orce it: By punishments and rewards.Bring them up, train them, raise them with chastening, and discipline, and training,and instruction, and learning, and en!orced con!ormity o! heart and li!e to God andthe principles o! 1is +ord.

usannah +esley had seventeen children, including Kohn and 3harles. he oncewrote this, $The parent who studies to subdue sel!will in his child, works togetherwith God in the saving o! a soul. The parent who indulges sel!will does the devilswork, makes religion impractical, salvation unattainable, and does all that is in himto drown his child, soul and body !orever. )ont indulge sel!will in a child. ubdue

it. Breaking sel!will is the key teaching them that they are sin!ul and that that sel!will is a sin!ul e-pression that is an o!!ense against God !or which God will punishthem eternally. Teach them that they are called to obey the law o! God which theyare to do, but cant do apart !rom Gods grace working in their heart. how themtheir sin and show them that they cant do anything about it'only God can changetheir heart through their !aith in 3hrist. %s they e-ercise simple !aith in 3hrist whentheyre young, accept each step they take. God only knows when true conversiontakes place. Encourage every step toward 1im.

The word $admonition$$Bring them up in the admonition or instruction,$ is theword $nouthesia.$ #t has the idea o! warning in it and it takes us back to what weve

been saying be!ore. +e have to warn our children that there are not only,obviously, physical conse*uences in the !amily o! their behavior, but there aremuch more serious conse*uences !rom God'so important. $Training,$ the word$training$ or $discipline$ may re!er to what is done to the child in terms o! discipline.But the word $instruction$ re!ers to what is said to the child, its verbal instructionwith a view to 5udgment. #n other words, you must do this because i! you do that,here are the conse*uences.


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#t was said o! Elis sons in # amuel, this tragic statement, $1is sons brought acurse on themselves and Eli did not rebuke them.$ #! you read the sad, sad story o!Elis !amily, you have the key right there. #t wasnt because o! something he did tothem, it was because o! what he didnt do. 1e did not warnthem.

The 4innesota 3rime 3ommission says this, $Every baby starts li!e as a little

savage. 1e is completely sel!ish and sel!centered. 1e wants what he wants whenhe wants it'his bottle, his mothers attention, his playmates toys, his uncleswatch. )eny him these wants and he seiCes with rage and aggressiveness, whichwould be murderous, were he not so helpless. 1es dirty. 1e has no morals, noknowledge, and no developed skill. This means that all children are borndelin*uent. #! permitted to continue in their sel!centered world o! in!ancy, given!ree rein to their impulsive actions to satis!y each one, every child will grow up acriminal, a thie!, a killer, and a rapist.$ Not bad !rom the 4innesota 3rime3ommission. +hat theyre describing is what: )epravity.

The task is !ormidable, !olks, and the truth o! the matter is only God can change

the heart. The goal is not to modi!y their behavior the goal is !or God to change theheartL To lead your child to 3hrist and then when your child acknowledges 3hrist,to lead that child to sancti!ication by discipline and instruction.

pend your time helping your child to understand how sin!ul he is. pend your timehelping him or her to understand that only God can change the heart. pend yourtime disciplining that child to con!orm to Gods law. But more than that, to love Godwith all his or her heart and soul and mind.

One !ather looking at the parenting process in retrospect had some practical thingsto add to that. $#! # were starting my !amily again,$ he said this, $# would love mywi!e more in !ront o! my children. # would laugh with my children more at ourmistakes and our 5oys. # would listen to my children more, even to the littlest one. #would be more honest about my weaknesses and not pretend per!ection. # wouldpray di!!erently !or my !amily'rather than !ocusing on them, #d !ocus on me. #would do more things with my children. # would do more encouraging. # wouldbestow more praise. # would pay more attention to little things. # would speak aboutGod more intimately out every ordinary thing o! every ordinary day, # would pointthem to God.

%nd thats really it. # dont think all the little nuances o! behavior are the issue. #dont think whether your child stands still or runs around in a circle is the issue. #dont think whether your child sits like &ittle &ord


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&et me tell you about a little, sickly child as # close. ick with rheumatic !ever andassorted illness, so that child was in bed much o! its early years o! li!e...carried aresidual heart de!ect, caused certain restriction in activity. The child was prone toaccident and mishap, went through assorted surgeries and accidents !rom recklessactivity. The child was mischievousdid such terrible things as letting all the

neighbors pet birds out o! the cages so they all !lew away. One morning taking adoCen eggs out o! the re!rigerator, putting them in the hall, taking a hammer andsmashing them all 5ust to see what a hammer did to an egg. =unning away severaltimes, usually only as !ar as the ladys house who made those good pies. )irectingtra!!ic in the middle o! a street, setting !ire to the kitchen, telling the teacher to pray!or his !ather because his !ather had chopped o!! his !oot simply because hewanted the best $share and tell$. Biting people so that his !ather had to make a signaround his neck that said, $)ont play with me. # bite.$ Now, # am intimatelyac*uainted with that little boy'it was me. %nd so it went, even to one occasionwhere my !ather had to come and get me out o! 5ail.

+hy was # like that: +as it because my parents didnt love me: No. +as it

because somehow they spanked me and # was wounded'in my psyche: No. #twas because # was really, 5ust like all the rest, depraved to the very core. %nd, i! le!tto mysel!, who knows what criminal activities # might have engaged in. But,persistent prayer and persistent instruction !rom loving parents led me to Kesus3hrist and to salvation and the path o! sancti!ication and to stand be!ore you hereas a preacher. 2ou may look at your little one and say, $This is double depravity.#m not sure # can cope with it.$ 2ou cant, but God can. tay on your knees andunderstand what it is that youre doing. #ts heartwork !or salvation andsancti!ication. The rest !lows out o! that.

Documents

A Crash Course in Christian Parenting - John MacArthur