There’s a nice restaurant in Georgia that’ll fine parents fifty bucks if their kids are out of control. And that’s exactly what they did to a Florida couple whose three sons and their little buddies thought they’d turn a swank eatery into a Godsmack mosh pit. I think fining feckless parents for their wild hog children is a brilliant idea. Personally, I’ve been sick of watching these unbridled little demoniacs ruin a nice evening out for the better part of the last three decades. Call me a curmudgeon, I don’t care. Here’s an FYI to parents: Your kids are not so special that they get to ransack that which other people have worked their asses off to enjoy. God doesn’t green light that kind of chaotic and undisciplined behavior. In my new book, LIONHEARTED: Making Young Christian Males Rowdy Biblical Men, I specifically brand the male teenage brain with that holy notion. Check it out: The Garden of Eden that God allotted Adam was not some hotel room that he was licensed to trash, but a place he was “to tend and keep” (Gen. 2.16). Adam was to cultivate that which he had subdued. With Adam’s leadership came the responsibility and accountability to God to take that which was under his care and make it better. Can you say better? I knew you could. This means, young man, you’re expected in your role in your family and in this game of life to enhance that which is good and to not whiz on everything people have labored arduously for. Yep, whatever gets tossed to you, young dude, is to be brought into greater order, usefulness, and beauty. This is your job. That’s your calling. You’re to do it. Not the government, not mommy, not your nanny, not your church. You, as a young man, are here to cultivate that which is holy, just, and good. You’re here to make this planet shine. And you should feel really weird if you don’t make things better and God’s kingdom to prosper. Yes, young man who liveth in the God-blessed testosterone fog, you are not free to use, abuse, abandon, desert, ignore, overlook, disregard, forget, avoid, or neglect that which gets placed under your care. You are to cultivate greatness, order, beauty, and God’s glory everywhere you go. It’s called taking responsibility to make certain things don’t suck. Lastly, my parents didn’t discipline me that much when I was young which allowed me to morph into hell on two skinny legs. If it weren’t God yanking me off that demonic glide path I’d be dead and in hell now or at least in prison. Christ, through the scriptures, by the power of the Holy Spirit, brought the discipline this dunderhead so desperately needed and I’m forever grateful. For all the parents out there ruining restaurants with your feral kids’ unbridled behavior here’s a few verses that showcase what God thinks about disciplining wee helions. Enjoy.
Proverbs 22:6
Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it. (NLT)
Proverbs 29:17
Discipline your children, and they will give you peace of mind and will make your heart glad. (NLT)
Hebrews 12:11
For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. (ESV)
Ephesians 6:4
Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. (ESV)
Deuteronomy 6:7
You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. (ESV)
Proverbs 22:15
Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far from him. (ESV)
Proverbs 23:13
Don’t fail to discipline your children. They won’t die if you spank them. (NLT)
Deuteronomy 4:9
Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children’s children. (ESV) |
King David Sang His Way to Victory 2 MIN READ ◦ DOUG GILES What’s lost on a lot of readers of the various Psalms is that they are actual songs. When David got assaulted by his ubiquitous enemies, instead of calling a 1-800 prayer line, he sang. Weird, eh? Most Christians when they’re getting waylaid by the powers of darkness start whining or complaining, or they call their prayer partner, or if it’s really bad they go to a counselor and blather on about their plight for the next seven and a...
Would Jesus Vote for Kamala? 4 MIN READ ◦ DOUG GILES The real Jesus of the scripture was a very hard act to follow. Jesus was the epitome of a man’s man. Yep, the Jesus of the scripture crushed the serpent, drank and made wine, was a carpenter before Home Depot and power tools, fashioned a whip and turned over the book tables of the religious dandies of His day, bashed false prophets and wicked politicos and sacrificially gave up His life as a ransom for many. To make that Man into some...
Stand Firm 2 MIN READ ◦ DOUG GILES “Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist on the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.” - Ephesians 6:13 (NASB) The Apostle Paul effectively says, if you don’t want to become roadkill under the wheel of Satan’s Prius, you’ve got to do four things: 1. Take up the full armor of God. 2. Resist on the evil day. 3. Do everything necessary. 4. Stand firm. Now, if what I just read is true, then the half-ass,...