Have you seen an Obedient, Happy Child?
See part 1-Introduction
This is part 2 of : "Are Your Children Obedient and Happy?"
Mother's, it is worth our while to take a good look into our own hearts to see if we have the right attitude about our obedience to God. God has made a "Divine order" for us to follow.
Really, it is very simply laid out for us, so that we are without excuse.
Here is the Divine order:
Fear, Love, Serve and Obey God First:
"And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, To keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command you this day for your good?"(Deuteronomy 10:12-13)
And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. And these words, which I command you this day, shall be in your heart:
(Deuteronomy 6:5-6)
Husbands Are The Head Of The Wife:
But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God. (1 Corinthians 11:3)
"For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the savior of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; " (Ephesians 5:23-25)
Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.
(Colossians 3:19)
Wives Are To Submit Themselves To Their Own Husband:
But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.
(1 Corinthians 11:3)
Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
(Ephesians 5:22)
Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fitting in the Lord.
(Colossians 3:18)
Likewise, you wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conduct of the wives;
(1 Peter 3:1)
Children Are To Obey Their Parents:
Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honor your father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; That it may be well with you, and you may live long on the earth. (Ephesians 6:1-3)
Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.
(Colossians 3:20)
God has given us a Divine Order to follow, Are we following?
Really, it is very simply laid out for us, so that we are without excuse.
Here is the Divine order:
Fear, Love, Serve and Obey God First:
"And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, To keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command you this day for your good?"(Deuteronomy 10:12-13)
And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. And these words, which I command you this day, shall be in your heart:
(Deuteronomy 6:5-6)
Husbands Are The Head Of The Wife:
But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God. (1 Corinthians 11:3)
"For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the savior of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; " (Ephesians 5:23-25)
Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.
(Colossians 3:19)
Wives Are To Submit Themselves To Their Own Husband:
But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.
(1 Corinthians 11:3)
Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
(Ephesians 5:22)
Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fitting in the Lord.
(Colossians 3:18)
Likewise, you wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conduct of the wives;
(1 Peter 3:1)
Children Are To Obey Their Parents:
Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honor your father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; That it may be well with you, and you may live long on the earth. (Ephesians 6:1-3)
Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.
(Colossians 3:20)
God has given us a Divine Order to follow, Are we following?
Adam and Eve were given a divine order to follow:
Man Was Given Dominion Over The Earth:
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth...(Genesis 1:27-30)
God Forbid Them To Eat Of The Tree Of The Knowledge Of Good And Evil:
And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it: for in the day that you eat thereof you shall surely die.
(Genesis 2:16-17)
Dear Mothers! Who first ate of this tree? Who gave the fruit to her husband? The wife, Eve!
Let me ask you this... was Eve willful? What does God's Word say? :
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
(Genesis 3:6)
Eve listened to the temptation of the serpent (satan). Here she followed her fleshly desires:
"The steps of the transgression, not steps upward, but downward towards the pit - steps that take hold on hell.":
Matthew Henry gives an excellent commentary of this passage:
1. "She saw. She should have turned away her eyes from beholding vanity; but she enters into temptation, by looking with pleasure on the forbidden fruit. ..... Let the fear of God be always to us for a covering of the eyes."
2. She took. It was her own act and deed. The devil did not take it, and put it into her mouth, whether she would or no; but she herself took it. Satan may tempt, but he cannot force; may persuade us to cast ourselves down, but he cannot cast us down, Mat_4:6. Eve's taking was stealing, like Achan's taking the accursed thing, taking that to which she had no right. Surely she took it with a trembling hand.
3. She did eat. Perhaps she did not intend, when she looked, to take, nor, when she took, to eat; but this was the result. Note, The way of sin is downhill; a man cannot stop himself when he will. The beginning o it is as the breaking forth of water, to which it is hard to say, “Hitherto thou shalt come and no further.” Therefore it is our wisdom to suppress the first emotions of sin, and to leave it off before it be meddled with.
4. She gave also to her husband with her. It is probable that he was not with her when she was tempted (surely, if he had, he would have interposed to prevent the sin), but came to her when she had eaten, and was prevailed upon by her to eat likewise; for it is easier to learn that which is bad than to teach that which is good. She gave it to him, persuading him with the same arguments that the serpent had used with her, adding this to all the rest, that she herself had eaten of it, and found it so far from being deadly that it was extremely pleasant and grateful. Stolen waters are sweet. She gave it to him, under colour of kindness - she would not eat these delicious morsels alone; but really it was the greatest unkindness she could do him. Or perhaps she gave it to him that, if it should prove hurtful, he might share with her in the misery, which indeed looks strangely unkind, and yet may, without difficulty, be supposed to enter into the heart of one that had eaten forbidden fruit. Note, Those that have themselves done ill are commonly willing to draw in others to do the same. As was the devil, so was Eve, no sooner a sinner than a tempter.
5. He did eat, overcome by his wife's importunity. It is needless to ask, “What would have been the consequence if Eve only had transgressed?” The wisdom of God, we are sure, would have decided the difficulty, according to equity; but, alas! the case was not so; Adam also did eat. “And what great harm if he did?” say the corrupt and carnal reasonings of a vain mind. What harm! Why, this act involved disbelief of God's word, together with confidence in the devil's, discontent with his present state, pride in his own merits, and ambition of the honour which comes not from God, envy at God's perfections, and indulgence of the appetites of the body. In neglecting the tree of life of which he was allowed to eat, and eating of the tree of knowledge which was forbidden, he plainly showed a contempt of the favours God had bestowed on him, and a preference given to those God did not see fit for him. He would be both his own carver and his own master, would have what he pleased and do what he pleased: his sin was, in one word, disobedience (Rom_5:19), disobedience to a plain, easy, and express command, which probably he knew to be a command of trial. He sinned against great knowledge, against many mercies, against light and love, the clearest light and the dearest love that ever sinner sinned against. He had no corrupt nature within him to betray him; but had a freedom of will, not enslaved, and was in his full strength, not weakened or impaired. He turned aside quickly. Some think he fell the very day on which he was made; but I see not how to reconcile this with God's pronouncing all very good in the close of the day. Others suppose he fell on the sabbath day: the better day the worse deed. However, it is certain that he kept his integrity but a very little while: being in honour, he continued not. But the greatest aggravation of his sin was that he involved all his posterity in sin and ruin by it. God having told him that his race should replenish the earth, surely he could not but know that he stood as a public person, and that his disobedience would be fatal to all his seed; and, if so, it was certainly both the greatest treachery and the greatest cruelty that ever was. The human nature being lodged entirely in our first parents, henceforward it could not but be transmitted from them under an attainder of guilt, a stain of dishonor, and an hereditary disease of sin and corruption. And can we say, then, that Adam's sin had but little harm in it?
Here we read from Matthew Henry's commentary how dreadful and wicked taking the fruit and disobeying God was!
But so often in life there may be sins that we do that we might turn our own eyes from or will not face. However, the consequences of those sins might be greater than we can imagine. How do those sins effect our children?
You may wonder what all this has to do with having an obedient and happy child:
Having a truly obedient and happy child must begin in the heart of the parents. I am an older women teaching younger women how to love their husbands and children... so I am addressing the mothers in my writings and encouraging them to examine their own hearts. Please do not point to your husband and say, "Well what about him?" Please point to yourself and say, "What about me?" For the Bible clearly states: "Every wise woman builds her house: but the foolish plucks it down with her hands." (Proverbs 14:1)
The enemy of our souls does not want us to realize how much our obedience to God, or disobedience to God will effect our children for their entire lives.
Mothers, please begin now and examine your own hearts to see if you are in the faith and know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior. If you do, then now examine your own hearts and ask God to reveal any sin that you might not want to admit to, or that you are turning your eyes away from. Get your heart right with your Savior!
To be continued in part 3- Attitude of Mother
Man Was Given Dominion Over The Earth:
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth...(Genesis 1:27-30)
God Forbid Them To Eat Of The Tree Of The Knowledge Of Good And Evil:
And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it: for in the day that you eat thereof you shall surely die.
(Genesis 2:16-17)
Dear Mothers! Who first ate of this tree? Who gave the fruit to her husband? The wife, Eve!
Let me ask you this... was Eve willful? What does God's Word say? :
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
(Genesis 3:6)
Eve listened to the temptation of the serpent (satan). Here she followed her fleshly desires:
"The steps of the transgression, not steps upward, but downward towards the pit - steps that take hold on hell.":
Matthew Henry gives an excellent commentary of this passage:
1. "She saw. She should have turned away her eyes from beholding vanity; but she enters into temptation, by looking with pleasure on the forbidden fruit. ..... Let the fear of God be always to us for a covering of the eyes."
2. She took. It was her own act and deed. The devil did not take it, and put it into her mouth, whether she would or no; but she herself took it. Satan may tempt, but he cannot force; may persuade us to cast ourselves down, but he cannot cast us down, Mat_4:6. Eve's taking was stealing, like Achan's taking the accursed thing, taking that to which she had no right. Surely she took it with a trembling hand.
3. She did eat. Perhaps she did not intend, when she looked, to take, nor, when she took, to eat; but this was the result. Note, The way of sin is downhill; a man cannot stop himself when he will. The beginning o it is as the breaking forth of water, to which it is hard to say, “Hitherto thou shalt come and no further.” Therefore it is our wisdom to suppress the first emotions of sin, and to leave it off before it be meddled with.
4. She gave also to her husband with her. It is probable that he was not with her when she was tempted (surely, if he had, he would have interposed to prevent the sin), but came to her when she had eaten, and was prevailed upon by her to eat likewise; for it is easier to learn that which is bad than to teach that which is good. She gave it to him, persuading him with the same arguments that the serpent had used with her, adding this to all the rest, that she herself had eaten of it, and found it so far from being deadly that it was extremely pleasant and grateful. Stolen waters are sweet. She gave it to him, under colour of kindness - she would not eat these delicious morsels alone; but really it was the greatest unkindness she could do him. Or perhaps she gave it to him that, if it should prove hurtful, he might share with her in the misery, which indeed looks strangely unkind, and yet may, without difficulty, be supposed to enter into the heart of one that had eaten forbidden fruit. Note, Those that have themselves done ill are commonly willing to draw in others to do the same. As was the devil, so was Eve, no sooner a sinner than a tempter.
5. He did eat, overcome by his wife's importunity. It is needless to ask, “What would have been the consequence if Eve only had transgressed?” The wisdom of God, we are sure, would have decided the difficulty, according to equity; but, alas! the case was not so; Adam also did eat. “And what great harm if he did?” say the corrupt and carnal reasonings of a vain mind. What harm! Why, this act involved disbelief of God's word, together with confidence in the devil's, discontent with his present state, pride in his own merits, and ambition of the honour which comes not from God, envy at God's perfections, and indulgence of the appetites of the body. In neglecting the tree of life of which he was allowed to eat, and eating of the tree of knowledge which was forbidden, he plainly showed a contempt of the favours God had bestowed on him, and a preference given to those God did not see fit for him. He would be both his own carver and his own master, would have what he pleased and do what he pleased: his sin was, in one word, disobedience (Rom_5:19), disobedience to a plain, easy, and express command, which probably he knew to be a command of trial. He sinned against great knowledge, against many mercies, against light and love, the clearest light and the dearest love that ever sinner sinned against. He had no corrupt nature within him to betray him; but had a freedom of will, not enslaved, and was in his full strength, not weakened or impaired. He turned aside quickly. Some think he fell the very day on which he was made; but I see not how to reconcile this with God's pronouncing all very good in the close of the day. Others suppose he fell on the sabbath day: the better day the worse deed. However, it is certain that he kept his integrity but a very little while: being in honour, he continued not. But the greatest aggravation of his sin was that he involved all his posterity in sin and ruin by it. God having told him that his race should replenish the earth, surely he could not but know that he stood as a public person, and that his disobedience would be fatal to all his seed; and, if so, it was certainly both the greatest treachery and the greatest cruelty that ever was. The human nature being lodged entirely in our first parents, henceforward it could not but be transmitted from them under an attainder of guilt, a stain of dishonor, and an hereditary disease of sin and corruption. And can we say, then, that Adam's sin had but little harm in it?
Here we read from Matthew Henry's commentary how dreadful and wicked taking the fruit and disobeying God was!
But so often in life there may be sins that we do that we might turn our own eyes from or will not face. However, the consequences of those sins might be greater than we can imagine. How do those sins effect our children?
You may wonder what all this has to do with having an obedient and happy child:
Having a truly obedient and happy child must begin in the heart of the parents. I am an older women teaching younger women how to love their husbands and children... so I am addressing the mothers in my writings and encouraging them to examine their own hearts. Please do not point to your husband and say, "Well what about him?" Please point to yourself and say, "What about me?" For the Bible clearly states: "Every wise woman builds her house: but the foolish plucks it down with her hands." (Proverbs 14:1)
The enemy of our souls does not want us to realize how much our obedience to God, or disobedience to God will effect our children for their entire lives.
Mothers, please begin now and examine your own hearts to see if you are in the faith and know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior. If you do, then now examine your own hearts and ask God to reveal any sin that you might not want to admit to, or that you are turning your eyes away from. Get your heart right with your Savior!
To be continued in part 3- Attitude of Mother
