Eating And Sleeping
The truth is, we lack the understanding that generations held before us. Sometimes parents are afraid to discipline because they are afraid their children won’t love them, afraid they will disappoint them, afraid of meltdowns. Maybe we actually over-react and over discipline because we are tired from surviving. And maybe, in it’s simplicity, we are just too tired from our busy lives to find the right words or actions and to get up and follow through. However, all of these scenarios come with devastating consequences.
Children today are out of control (or in control- depending on how you look at it). We are not doing a very good job at raising human beings with quality character, and with standards that we and generations before us were effectively raised on. We had to eat what was on our plate, we got a spanking or were grounded if we got in trouble at school (parents today will defend their child instead of the teacher who is trying to do their job), we were told to play outside (forced to use our imaginations, muscles and resources), we didn’t talk back to adults (without consequences) and we didn’t expect a $300 purse or $200 pair of sneakers at age twelve.
Today, we’re told that in order to protect a child’s fragile self-esteem, we must tread lightly and cater to her needs. We may stroke our child’s ego all day every day but the rest of the world won’t. There is also the opposite side of the spectrum, where parents are down right abusive, calling their children names, slapping them out of no where and instilling an unhealthy fear instead of a healthy reverence for parents and authority. So what is this doing? We’re setting our child up for failure as an adult. We must take a step back, use what worked from past generations and yes, discipline but discipline with balance! Let’s walk through this- starting with the discipline of eating and sleeping.
Wisdom has built her house;
She has hewn out its seven pillars,
She has prepared her meat and mixed her wine;
She has also set her table.
Proverbs 9:1-2
This Proverb is really about inviting us to wisdom’s table, and less about the dinner table. But wisdom begins with knowing how to take care of yourself and your children. One of the main areas in which we have let our children take control is at the table. Children today eat dinner rolls for dinner instead of a balanced meal because the dinner rolls are easier.
The Bible talks about what people ate from the beginning of creation and trust me, it is nothing like what we are putting on our tables today. The ancient grains that can keep our bodies so healthy: millet, flax, spelt, bran, have been stripped of their nutrients and bleached white. The majority of food choices on our grocery shelves are filled with unhealthy ingredients. For the first time EVER statistics show that children of today will have shorter life spans than their parents. This is mainly because of food. Unfortunately, the foods that God provided to nourish and heal our bodies do not come in a box. (Do you see a pattern when it comes to God? There are no “quick” solutions. Doing something right usually takes time and patience and the same goes for making sure our children are properly nourished.)
“Let all who are simple come in here!”
She says to those who lack judgment.
“Come, eat my food
And drink the wine I have mixed.”
Proverbs 9:4-5
