"The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately wicked: who can know it?"
One thing I always have told my children is not to pretend to do wrong. When one of my son's was young, he was driving a matchbox car and pretending that the man inside the car was angry. He was talking for the pretend man in an angry tone. Even when we are imagining a scenario and acting the part out, we are modelling the kind of behavior that might someday roll off our tongue.
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| Haven of Rest |
Do you remember being a small child? I have impressions of my thoughts as a child of about five years old that I hope I will never forget. I remember my intentions and motives that no one realized but me.
I remember playing in my yard with a little neighbor girl who was younger than me. She had a very tiny little doll that I really wanted. Don't tell me that a child of four or five doesn't have a wicked heart. Don't tell me a child that young doesn't understand the motives in their heart. I was coveting that doll and I knew it although I didn't yet know the word covet!!
It says in Deuteronomy 5:21 that we shouldn't covet "any thing that is thy neighbor's"
I got that doll!! I remember the mean feelings I had towards the sweet little girl and how I connived in persuading her to give it to me. My mother didn't believe me when I told her the little girl gave it to me and I had to give it back!! Aren't mothers wise?! I was both deceitful and desperately wicked!!
In our interactions with our children and husband this week, lets allow God to work in our hearts. Ask God to show you where you are blinded to your thoughts and actions.
What is in our hearts has a way of playing out in our behavior towards others. You will see this more readily in your little children's interactions with one another, or with the man in the matchbox car. Notice your thoughts this week and your self-talk. Allow God to examine this area of your heart this week.
In Christ Alone,
~Judith~
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That's interesting, it is good to act our emotions and it's okay to be mad or angry. Kids need a way to vent that is healthy and not keep things bottled up inside. It's not okay to pretend everything is okay when it's not. I'm going to have to think about this. But I think it can be good to pretend an emotion and follow it through to it's logical consequence. But I do reinforce babies (that my daughter plays with) are to be handled with care. Even when she is throwing them around, she is just doing to them what she loves. "Zooming" with Daddy, but right now she's not very good at catching! :)
ReplyDeleteWondering where your link up this week?
Thank you so much for commenting, Leslie. I am not saying that we should encourage our children to cover up what they are feeling inside. We can teach our children to act godly on the outside and cover up what's on the inside. My son was 12, not a toddler. I was raised in a Christian home with loving parents, so I might have been more aware of what I was doing on the inside at a younger age. I don't remember exactly how old your daughter is, but I remember she is quite little. There has to be a balance in how we raise our children, understanding what the Bible says about our sinful hearts. I tried to teach my children through their play. Play is very real to them. The earlier you teach them, the easier it is to get through to their sensitive hearts. It is very hard once they are teenagers. Very hard. It is only through the Holy Spirit working in their lives and their response, not through anything I can do. Do the best you can to teach your little girl because a mother's heart grieves when her child does not chose to follow the Lord.
ReplyDeleteI am sure that you are doing a wonderful job raising your daughter.