We are concluding our study in the book of Proverbs titled Wise Words on Troop for Life Weekend.

Today we will learn how to train our children in godliness without discouraging them and what to do if our best efforts don't seem to be sinking in.

Alistair Begg is looking at Proverbs 22 also looking at Ephesians chapter 6 and verse 4.

We could spend a whole morning delineating the way in which we can exasperate our children.

I am going to give you a number of them both from personal experience, sadly and from biblical principle.

I am going to go through them very quickly because it is not the crux of what I want to drive home this morning.

We exasperate our children by failing to allow them to be what they are, namely children.

And we illustrate that when we make irritating or unreasonable demands upon them.

Secondly, by treating them with harshness and cruelty, they have fragile lives.

We don't push our weight around.

Thirdly and obviously by ridiculing them in front of others, especially their peers.

Fourthly by portraying favoritism, displaying favoritism, entertaining unhelpful comparisons.

Why can't you be like your brother?

Why can't you be like your sister? She's so sensible, you're so stupid.

Fifthly by our failure to express approval even if they're apparently small accomplishments.

And sometimes we're going to have to give them great approval for small accomplishments because small accomplishments is all that they have.

Not everybody's mother is driving around town with a minivan with 15 stickers on the back about how brilliant her kid is.

Let others praise you. Let others praise your kids.

Let it be said by someone else. You don't need to have it in neon lights on the back of the van.

We exasperate our children by being arbitrary in the exercise of discipline so that they never know where they stand.

They don't know whether they're going to get it or they're not going to get it.

They don't know if this is the day when they get it or they don't get it.

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