Have you ever heard that statement? You’ll see some scraggly kid who cares about nothing and nobody, who has long ago left the Lord (though he may have been faithfully “going to church”), and who has literally broken his parents’ hearts. You ask a friend, “What happened to him?” And he answers, “His parents were too strict – they made him assemble when the saints assembled – they made him dress modestly – they made him keep himself clean – etc., etc., etc.”<\/p>\n
His parents were too strict?<\/strong>\u00a0I don’t believe it for a minute! They may have been inconsistent, or the child may have been rebellious, but too strict? I don’t think so.<\/p>\n It is important that we understand that God demands that parents be strict. God commands that children obey their parents (Ephesians 6:1) and honor their parents (Ephesians 6:2). Fathers are commanded to “bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord<\/em>” (Ephesians 6:4). That requires strictness and discipline. It requires a decided attitude about what that father wants his child to be morally and spiritually.<\/p>\n Now, if you’re talking about the parent who is ungodly, who wants his children to be something that he doesn’t intend to be, that’s hypocrisy<\/strong>. Or if you’re talking about the child of godly parents who makes up his mind that he’s not going to live right, that’s rebellion<\/strong>. But, remember, a child doesn’t ruin his life simply because a godly mother and father were “too strict.” He had to go wrong in spite of<\/strong>\u00a0all that they did for him. God demands that parents be strict. (see also Proverbs 13:24; 19:18; 22:6, 15; 23:13-14; 29:15,17).<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Boyd Sellers Have you ever heard that statement? You’ll see some scraggly kid who cares about nothing and nobody, who has long ago left the Lord (though he may have been faithfully “going to church”), and who has literally broken his parents’ hearts. You ask a friend, “What happened to him?” And he answers,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1028],"tags":[665,29,107,417],"class_list":["post-56940","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-parenting","tag-child-rearing","tag-parenting","tag-raising-children","tag-rebellion"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":60998,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/when-your-child-leaves-god\/","url_meta":{"origin":56940,"position":0},"title":"When Your Child Leaves God","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 29, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jim Lee Many of you parents who will read this, know by experience the horrific impact this circumstance can have on you. In the past, I have often sympathized and grieved with other brothers and sisters who have gone through the heart-wrenching experience of seeing a child of theirs\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/05\/SadParents.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":89075,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-i-insist-that-my-boyfriend-confront-his-parents-about-his-change-in-religion\/","url_meta":{"origin":56940,"position":1},"title":"Should I insist that my boyfriend confront his parents about his change in religion?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 4, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Dear Brother, I accepted Jesus Christ a few years ago. I come from a Hindu family. I like a guy, and he was a Hindu too. As I kept on talking to him about Jesus, one day he accepted Jesus Christ. He said he can no longer view his\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":63310,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/raising-children\/","url_meta":{"origin":56940,"position":2},"title":"Raising Children","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 13, 2003","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0This generation is full of unusual ideas about how to raise children \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Many are leftovers of failed experiments that continue to hang around. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Don't spank children \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0a.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It is a form of child abuse or could lead to it. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0b.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It is unnatural to restrict children \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a02.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Ignore children\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Parenting"","block_context":{"text":"Parenting","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/parenting\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":57084,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-to-raise-a-heartache\/","url_meta":{"origin":56940,"position":3},"title":"How to Raise a Heartache","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 20, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"by Edward O. 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