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As I mentioned in the article "Is God Angry at Me?" God recently took me through about a two-year period where He completely remade my understanding of how He views His children. Now, He has taken that understanding another step and is teaching me how this principle applies to parenting. This has so profoundly impacted me that I wanted to share it with you.

God's Word says we are to love God and love others. Of course, we know that since God is love, He is the source and example for us to enable us to love others. But if we have an inaccurate view of His love this will affect the way we express love to others. When we understand what His love really looks like we can in turn love others the same way He loves us.

The understanding that God is never angry with me, nor does He punish me for my sin (see "Is God Angry at Me?" for the distinction between punishment and discipline), completely changes the way I relate to my children. When I realized this, God quickly followed that knowledge with the understanding that the guidelines He provides in His Word for the way believers are to relate to others in general and the model He has in His Word for Christian leaders also apply to parenting.

As parents, we often feel justified in our anger at our children's misbehavior. After all, it's righteous anger, isn't it? Well, if God doesn't get angry with me for my sin, I also have no excuse for being angry with my children for their sin. The Word also says, "the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God." (James 1:20) If that is the case, then what really is the root of my anger toward my children when they misbehave?

When I asked God to show me this, He revealed that I get angry at my children's misbehavior because I take it personally. I take personal offense. Yet, I Cor. 13:5 says, real love "…seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked…" So my anger when my children sin is sin on my part! God doesn't treat me that way, nor is it acceptable for me to treat my children that way. There is no place for anger with my children in my parenting.

Here are some other thought provoking Scriptures:

I John 4:19 "We love him, because he first loved us."

Gal. 2:20, "…the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."
John 15:12,13 "This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."

John 14:15 "If ye love me, keep my commandments."

Luke 22:25-27 " And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors.

But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve.

For whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? is not he that sitteth at meat? but I am among you as he that serveth.

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