Parental Payoff

(Pro 29:17 KJV)  Correct thy son, and he shall give thee rest; yea, he shall give delight unto thy soul.

Do you have children?  Do they bring you “rest” (comfort NASB) (5117) or pain?  If your children are old enough to use the words “no” or “mine” you have already moved out of the heady, new-parent bubble but I am talking about the big picture.  When my children were young I used to say I would wait until they are 30 before I wrote a book on how to parent.  They are arriving and  am still going to wait a while.

At the same time, they bring me “delight” (4574).  I am proud of how they have turned out.  Much of the credit goes to my wife who gave up a career to be a full time mother and totally invested herself in the endeavor.  I like to think I helped a little. 

The reason we are staying in their homes on vacation instead of visiting them in jail is that we made sure we gave correction when it was needed.  It was not pleasant at the time, but it seems to have paid off.

So?  God has a reason for what He expects from us.  Parenting, tithing, forgiving; the list goes on.  Read the Owners Manual before you make mistakes in the assembly.