Ep. 18: An Uncomfortable Truth About Kids (If They Don't Feel Like Blessings, It Might Be Our Fault)
M Is for Mama Podcast
Abbie Halberstadt
4.8 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 16 May 2023
⏱️ 31 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
One of the most popular narratives I hear in person and on social media is that mothers are victims of their children's "nonsense." I get that perspective and sometimes *feel* the same way, as it can absolutely give major "you're doing this on purpose" vibes when your two-year-old calmly eats his yogurt, only to throw the half-empty container on the ground and SCREECH at the top of his lungs the moment you tell him it's time to leave for church--splattering your dress and the kitchen with white goo in what is obviously a planned attempt to take the last shred of your sanity.
The truth: Very young (and even some older) children respond to the impulses (some of them sinful) that drive their urges, and, while they can be incredibly empathetic and sweet, often couldn't care less how their behavior affects us. They're not "bullying" us. We are not at their mercy.
HOWEVER.
If we fail to recognize our role in investing very intentionally in their instruction, moral growth, knowledge of Scripture + the Lord, and training in both self-discipline and righteousness, chances are, no matter how many times we remind ourselves that "children are a blessing from the Lord, " they still won't feel like they are.
The Bible has a fair bit to say about children who bring shame to their parents and are a source of sorrow to their fathers and mothers. And while there's no perfect formula of "this amount of input produces this kind of results," the fact is that, sometimes, our children's not feeling like blessings in a particular moment has way less to do with their bad habits and more to with our lack of fortitude in helping to train them through those struggles.
If you're interested in practical steps for making strides toward raising kids you love AND like--kids who are both a blessing because God says so and feel like a blessing because of the efforts you've invested to help them grow in good habits, then this episode is for YOU!
Bible references:
Matthew 19:14
Psalm 127:3
Psalm 127:5
Proverbs 10:1
Deuteronomy 6:6-8
Matthew 7:14
Ephesians 6:4
1 Kings 1:5-6
2 Samuel 15
2 Samuel 18:33
Job 42:2
1 Kings 1:32-34
Proverbs 19:26
1 Samuel 3:1-8-4:22
1 Samuel 8:3
Genesis 6:5
Proverbs 22:6
Proverbs 15:20
Galatians 6:9
Proverbs 23:22-25
Deuteronomy 31:6
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello and welcome to the MS-Mama Podcast I'm your host Abby Halberstadt |
| 0:08.8 | happy wife mama-10 Bible believing Christian and on today's show I want to talk about some Mama to 10, Bible Believing Christian. |
| 0:12.8 | And on today's show I want to talk about something that might step on some toes, |
| 0:17.6 | but as you've probably figured out, while my goal is not to squash your toes, if your toes do get a little bit sore in the process |
| 0:24.4 | of hearing what God's word has to say in response or in contrast to what culture has to say on a particular |
| 0:30.4 | topic, I'm okay with that. So our topic doesn't really have a succinct title |
| 0:36.8 | that I can give it, but my thought is this, we live in a world that views children |
| 0:42.4 | as a burden and we've talked about how the Bible views children very differently |
| 0:46.7 | That Jesus says let the little children come unto me and do not hinder them |
| 0:49.9 | For to such belongs the kingdom of heaven. We know that children are a blessing from the |
| 0:55.0 | Lord that the Bible talks about how they are heritage and that blessed is the man who has a quiver |
| 1:01.2 | full of many arrows. We hear verses like that throughout scripture and it's |
| 1:06.7 | obvious that the Bible views children as a good thing and as a gift from the Lord. |
| 1:16.8 | However, there are scenarios where the Bible talks about children in less glowing terms and I'm going to address some of the reasons I think why children get to the point of being a sorrow to their mother and father, which is a really strong word and yet it's a word that Proverbs uses to talk about unwise children or |
| 1:34.0 | disobedient or rebellious children and why current parenting trends are possibly |
| 1:39.2 | contributing to an outcome where the parents feel a lot of grief rather than joy in the path |
| 1:45.7 | that their children have chosen. So let me tell you this story really quickly. I |
| 1:49.7 | got a comment the other day from someone who was responding to an old post and it was kind of a |
| 1:57.1 | light-hearted video about the different parenting types and someone had left a comment responding to one of the parenting types that kind of was |
| 2:05.7 | positing the idea that we don't validate our children's disruptive behavior or |
| 2:15.0 | paying attention to it, kind of we don't give it much mind. |
| 2:19.0 | And this commenter was piggybacking on that concept |
... |
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