𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐇 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐋𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐍

 Teach your children to know God, and bring them up in the church. Very seldom do parents have trouble with children when the Bible is read regularly in the home, grace is said at the table and family prayers take place daily. Most trouble with teenagers comes from children reared in homes where prayer is neglected, the Bible is never opened and church attendance is spasmodic.

Aaron, the first priest in Israel, was unable to make two of his sons, Nadab and Abhihu, understand the seriousness of handling holy things. He could not stop them from offering 'strange fire'. Hence, Aaron paid a price for this lack of parental control. He saw his sons smitten of God.

The last two judges of Israel were Eli and Samuel. Interestingly, both of them had the same problem: wayward children.

Eli's two sons, Phinehas and Hophni, were priests who committed evil deeds. Their sins were greed and immorality. 1Sam 2:11-17. They did whatever they wanted to do and who was going to stop them? The man in the only position to rebuke them was their father and he had been warned twice to check them and did nothing!!

Though Eli and Samuel lived their entire lives in dedicated service to God, their sons did not. The difference between Eli and Samuel is that the former did not “restrain” his sons from their evil ways; whereas, the scriptures indicate that when Samuel grew old, his sons decided to “turn aside” and pervert judgment. They turned aside and began accepting bribes to pervert the course of justice.1Sam 8:1-5

Those who are called and consecrated to God's ministry can be certain that if they do not discipline their children, God will- especially if the children's misbehavior dishonors him.

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