I don't know about you but for me parenting is the hardest, most awesome, overwhelming, fulfilling, tiring. crazy, fun, discouraging, encouraging job there is. And when your husband is a football coach, you have more children with more struggles than you can count. Right now, we have a former OU softball player living with us and our other guest bedroom is occupied at an given night of the week with current or former football players. So you can say our house is a little crazy. I want to introduce you to a man who took people in and taught them things of God, his name was Eli. Eli was the priest of Israel along with his two sons when a boy by the named of Samuel came to live with Eli and learn about God. Eli did some great things as a man in ministry, but failed as a parent in the home. You see, Eli's two sons stole, cheated, and seduced women all in the walls of the church. And Eli did nothing: "Eli was old, but he was aware of what his sons were doing to the people of Israel..." (1 Samuel 2:22) Well Crap, God has got my attention. Because how often do people outside our home get our best: our best attitudes, our best attention, our best selves while those in our homes see the short tempered, tired, overwhelmed person. All because we are trying so hard to put on the "we have everything in order" face on. Anybody else? We know things arent great in our home, but everyone thinks It is so we are good. Oh, but we are not. Because although people don't see, God always does. "Then the Lord said to Samuel, 'I am about to do a shocking thing in Israel. I am going to carry out all the threats against Eli and his family, from beginning to end. I have warned him that judgment is coming upon his family forever because his sons are blaspheming God and he hasn't disciplined them." (1 Samuel 3:11-13) There is it...did you catch it? Did you see the dirty word? The whole reason and area that Eli failed and if we don't learn from Eli....we will to: as parents and followers of Jesus. It's kinda like when I take my kids to get their shots. It's never pleasant, but it is necessary. Nobody likes shots and nobody likes discipline. Because like shots, we view discipline as something painful and negative situation. BUT DISCIPLINE is not just important it is NECESSARY in all aspects of life. But for the sake of not wanting to turn you off from the rest of this blog post because nobody wants to hear the word discipline, we are going to exchange "discipline" for "hugs"
There are 3 areas of "hugs" the bible teaches us about:
1) We must HUGS our children (To discipline a child produces wisdom, but a mother is disgraced by an undisciplined child Proverbs 29:15). I am not here to debate how you hug your children but just to remind you that it is necessary. Why? Because it is from us they learn obedience, honesty, and respect and it is from us they need to learn that there are consequences when you don't show these things. And if we don't teach them that as our children, the world will teach them that as adults. And I don't know about you but I want my children to be respected in their professions, loved as someone's spouse for 50 years, and have a heart after God's.
2) God HUGS us. ("Think about it: Just as a parent disciplines a child, the Lord your God disciplines you for your own good." Deuteronomy 8:5) I tell my children all the time..."Because I have lived longer, experience more, and learned much...I know more." Well, God is the beginning and the end of time. He has experienced everything to everyone. And He knows all, is in all, and created all therefore he knows all. And when I get off on my own path because I think I know the way, He gently reminds me with a little HUGS that He is God and I am not so get back on the path....MY path.
3) We must have Spiritual HUGS
Just like athletes training for their sport we too are in training. Athletes have to be disciplined in their training. ("Athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize, but we do it for an eternal prize. 1 Corinthians 9:25) And we too, have to be disciplined in ours. Notice it doesn't say Prisoners. Athletes don't have to train and don't even have to play. There are some athletes who don't practice and just show up for the games. There are some athletes who are covered in all the right equipment, but never step foot on the field. Those athletes that train and are disciplined in their training do it out of love of the game. There are people all the time that don't want to "practice" Christianity and just show up for the big Heaven game. There are people who covered with the Christian lingo, but have never had a conversation with Jesus. We don't do Spiritual HUGS like reading the bible, going to church, and praying because we have to BUT for Love of Our God.
We learn from Eli, that HUGS is not only important in our lives, but necessary. And so is discipline:)
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