daily bible readings

I had to cringe. There was no other reaction I could muster. A young girl tripped over and hurt her knee. She went crying to her father and he sternly replied, “Stop being a cry baby. There’s nothing wrong with you!”

Fathers are expressly told to avoid exasperating their children. The Greek means something like, do not make them angry. Our immediate thoughts might turn to the typical brat of a child or entitled child who gets angry as soon as dad or mum say not to their requests or desires. This is certainly not the intent of the verse. The verse is NOT saying that parents should do everything possible to make their kids happy. Giving children all the lollies and ice-cream they can eat each day will probably make them happy but will probably have disastrous long term effects.

What God is saying in these words of verse 4 is that fathers are not to antagonise their children so much so that the children are filled with anger or hate towards their dad.

Here is a list of things dads, and mums too, can be doing to help their kids through the covid-19 virus in a way that captures the intent of verse 4.

· Talk regularly with your children and ask them often how they are feeling. If they tell you that they are scared, don’t fob them off with a comment like, “O, don’t be stupid,” or “That’s pretty silly.” Listen to them. Understand them and ask open ended questions to draw them out. The more they talk, the better they will feel.

· Children need to know that they have been listened to. One of the best ways to communicate that you are listening is to ask them lots of questions as they talk without overwhelming them.

· Share, albeit sensitively, your own frustrations and fears with the children in age appropriate language. If, for example, you are worried about Grandma catching the virus, tell your children. Be honest, open and vulnerable.

· Pray with your children regularly. If, as we saw above, your children are scared, ask them how they might pray about this. Offer to pray with them. You could pray first and then ask them to pray as well.

· Read the Bible systematically with them. Make a time each day or evening where you can spend 10 minutes with each child reading, discussing and praying. When my children were little, I asked each one of them which book of the Bible they wanted to read and we would spend 10 minutes a night reading systematically through that book. We would take turns at reading and share what we learnt. We would then pray together. It was the best 10 minutes I invested in each child each day.

· Play games with your children. One of the best ways to overcome fear and stress is distraction. If you know a game your child loves, play it with them often. Allow them to get lost in the game and to zone out from “real life.” Let them have lots of fun and let them win. You’ll benefit as well.

· Pray with entire family. Join with your spouse and children to have regular prayer times. As a family, we started as soon as the kids could sit in a high chair at the diner table. After dinner, we would read a passage, talk about it and pray together. We would use age-appropriate language as much as possible. When the children asked to leave the table, we would gently reply words to the effect, “We are listening to Jesus and talking with Him.” They learnt very quickly that this was a special family and God time. They stopped asking very quickly.

PRAYER

Adoration:

· Adore God that His creation of the family unit with Dad, Mum and kids is a perfect model for fulfilling the creation mandate and the Great Commission given by Jesus Christ.

· Adore God that He is love and lavishes us with His love each and every single day.

Confession:

· Take time to confess your sins to the Lord and to ask for forgiveness

Thanks:

· Thank God for each person in your family.

· Thank God for each person in your Christian family.

Supplication:

· Pray that God would strengthen Dads and Mums to lead

Discussion Questions

1. Think about your own parenting. Are there areas where you may have been exasperating your children?

2. What should you do if there are such areas?

3. What is the alternative given to exasperating children?