Parenting by Design - November 13

Living Your Words

Matt. 5:37: "Simply let your ‘Yes' be ‘Yes,' and your ‘No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one" (NIV).

The Jewish legal experts had many ways to get around the law and break oaths so that a person's promises might mean nothing. Jesus, however, encouraged people to live their lives with such integrity that people would simply believe what they said.

Our actions should speak louder than our words. But too often, the opposite is true. When we say we will give consequences for disobedience and then fail to follow through, our kids may doubt the reliability of our words. As a result, we may use threats to convince our children that this time we really mean what we say: "This is the last time I'm waking you up" or, "Next time, I'm not bringing your homework to school." Unfortunately, our threats are often perceived as just more meaningless words.

Provide your children with the sense of security that comes when your actions are consistent with your words.