Child Discipline (3)

Scriptures says that fathers (parents) are to bring up their children in the “nurture and admonition of the Lord.” (Eph 6:4) This certainly includes chastening, as we discussed before. But it also includes instruction. God told Israel the secret of instructing our children. In Isaiah 28: 9-10 He said, “Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:” This tells us at what age we should begin: when they are very young! Don’t wait until school age to begin. Second, it tells how children should be instructed. Our instruction should be precept upon precept. One of the laws of learning is that a lesson is built on previously known material. God thought of that first. Precepts are built on precepts.
God also tells us when to instruct them. In Deuteronomy 6:7-9 We are told, “And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.” This is more specifics on Isaiah’s “here a little, and there a little.” In education they are called ‘teachable moments’ when a child asks a question and is interested to know the answer. That is when instruction is best accomplished. Also, when two children are having a conflict, instead of just rendering a verdict, teach them the reason for the conflict and the rules for solving them. In short, turn every situation into a lesson.
God mentions four specific times of instruction: getting up in the morning, going to bed at night, sitting at the table or in the house, and traveling together. Research indicates that the times of greatest conflict in a home are getting up, going to bed, meal times, and travel in the car. Thus, God is saying, instead of allowing these to be times of conflict, turn them into times of instruction and getting to know Him and His Word better.
Instruction is built around Scripture. Memorizing Scripture as a family is easy if you just say a few verses every time you sit down for a meal. By repeating them over and over, they will stick. Further, the Lord will often give situations in the family or events around you to apply the verses to life.
Our time together as a family should include “here a little and there a little” instruction, so that the Lord and His Word become an integral part of everything that goes on in the home.