Dave Havir - Because I Said So

Dave Havir, focusing on principles of child rearing advanced by John Rosemond, extrapolates how God looks at us as children and how we look at God as a parent. Do we obey God only because He “says so?” We should have significantly matured spiritually to have gone beyond that rudimentary motivation, characterized by thinking like a child. Until a child is old enough to understand the answer to a “why” question, a parent would be better served to save his breath. As one matures spiritually, the more one can negotiate with God, as did Moses and Abraham. We are taught by Jesus Christ to reason with God, almost to the point of pestering after the manner of the importunate widow. Likewise, when our children mature, we can negotiate and reason with our teenagers and young adults, rewarding their prudence and logic. Parents must never discipline in anger, but instead should have a matter of fact attitude toward establishing the rules. Occasionally, a parent must dispense Vitamin N for “no” when capitulating to their wants would not be in their best interests. Likewise, we should also not cushion them from occasional failures, realizing that these events could be character building and for their ultimate good. Children need to also learn that life is not always fair. Children should not develop an unhealthy dependence upon praise. We need to develop the motivation to do what is morally right because God’s Laws and character are an integral part of our internal character, when we love God’s Law and want to be transformed into His image.

Abraham and God * Apologizing to God * Avoiding the penalty * “Because I said so” * Child-rearing principles * Being rude to God * Correcting our children in anger * Dealing with the civil government * Exodus 32:10-14 * Expecting and wishing * I Corinthians 13:11 * Fruits of frustration * Genesis 18:23-33 * Hebrews 8:6-10; 10:16 * Jeremiah 31:33 * John Rosemond, The New Six-Point Plan for Raising Happy Children * Luke 18:1-6 * Moses and God * Obedience * Parent-centered family * Personal preference * Persistent widow * Pulls of the flesh * Resisting governmental authority * Rewarding rebellion * Romans 7:15, 19; 13:5 * Roots of responsibility * “Save-your breath principle” * Speaking as a child * Television and children * “That’s the way I want it” * Thinking like a child * Thinking like God * Toys and play: the right stuff * Understanding as a child * Wishing for obedience * “Yes-sir, no sir obedient child” * Vitamin N * Voice of authority