We have more company coming, five little ones exactly our children’s ages, and six adults. We’re all looking forward to spending time with Lee’s family. Lee’s mom and dad are a lot of fun. They had three little boys close in age long ago, and they’ve got a lot of knowledge we can learn from. Lee’s two brothers and their wives are all good parents, so I learn from watching them each time we get together. We share many of the same goals as parents, and our discipline approaches are often quite similar. Still, there are differences, and I’m still tempted to compare.

• I compared last week as Bethel propped her feet up at the table and David burped loudly without saying excuse me. My children are definitely not ready to be in public scrutiny yet, I fear.
• I compared when Bethel successfully discovered how to go potty (when prompted), about a year after the other little girls were completely trained. I’m afraid of how distracted I will be with this challenge.
• When my children disobey, I wonder whether it’s because of the differences in discipline approaches, and wonder whether the differences will show up when we’re all together.

All of this is foolish thinking, the Bible tells me. The fear of man brings a snare, and my troubled thinking is full of the fear of man. Proverbs 29:25 tells me that the alternative to the fear of man is the fear of God. I need to care far more about what God thinks than of what others think of me.

In the gospels, we read that one of the big problems of the Pharisees was that they loved the praise of men rather than the praise of God (John 12:43). Ouch again.

Really, I need to stay in God’s Word. When I’m tempted to compare, I need to confess the sin, and remember that it is God who works both to will and to do of his good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). And I need to beg for humility. I may learn a lot over the holiday week, and I want to be ready.

Now, I have some cleaning to do… for the glory of God (with a little extra motivation that I shall not dissect at this time).

Similar Posts:

• Two Thoughts, One Thought
• I thought of all you pilot wives whose husbands ar…
• Child Development and Scripture Memory
• Fear of Being Rejected
• I Need a Date!

Popularity: 3% [?]

Filed under: Introspection