Parents: Tough Love Is Mandatory
I have four boys ages 19, 17, 15, and 9. Each one of them have totally different personalities. Each one has to be approached in an understanding way. Each one just like myself has certain strengths and weaknesses. Each one of them are in different seasons of life.
Time has proven that growing up is a process. Parenting through that growth can be very challenging. Sometimes you have to be very aggressive. Sometimes you just have to let them learn the hard way. However, never should you quit caring enough to do what you can to encourage them in the right direction.
One way you must do this is through tough love. In the home, we must operate as the parents. What they do apart from our supervision or knowledge we can’t control. Yet, as long we can we should draw very clear lines of what is right and totally not acceptable. Regardless of what form of punishment you choose there must be discipline when necessary.
Parenting any child is not for wimps. We must operate with great courage and faith. We must stand our ground when tough love is demanded. Parents, if they don’t learn to live under your authority they will likely seek to live above authority.
I love each of my children dearly. However, the goal of parenting is not about being best friends forever. Parenting is seeking to train your child up in the way God directs you. Continuing to pray they might choose to live in a God pleasing way apart from you. Keep loving your child unconditionally, but know tough love at times is mandatory.
“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6
Pastor Craig Crosby 