by David Gibson<\/p>\n
A couple of 7-year-old girls were talking about parents’ rules. One said to the other, “If they didn’t care about you, they’d let you do anything.”<\/p>\n
Smart girl! She saw rules as evidence of love, and freedom to “do anything” as a disadvantage.<\/p>\n
Like children, we grown-ups have Someone who provides directions for living. When we’ve done as we pleased, we’re not always too pleased with what we’ve done. We, too, need guidance and discipline (Hebrews 12:5-6).<\/p>\n
The child who identifies parental authority with love is far more likely to be well-adjusted.\u00a0Christians who view God in the same way can enjoy a deeper relationship with the Father.<\/p>\n
“See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are<\/em>” (I John 3:1 NASB).<\/p>\n
“For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome<\/em>” (I John 5:3).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by David Gibson A couple of 7-year-old girls were talking about parents’ rules. One said to the other, “If they didn’t care about you, they’d let you do anything.” Smart girl! She saw rules as evidence of love, and freedom to “do anything” as a disadvantage. A Healthy Perspective Like children, we grown-ups have Someone…<\/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,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[177,54],"class_list":["post-86785","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-law","tag-obedience"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":92659,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-great-a-love\/","url_meta":{"origin":86785,"position":0},"title":"How Great a Love!","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 17, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by David Gibson One of life's greatest blessings is knowing someone loves us, despite our faults and failures. I never doubted that my parents loved me, or that my wife loved me. And doesn't their love have a way of bringing out the best in us? We don't want to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":37992,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/discipline-in-the-home\/","url_meta":{"origin":86785,"position":1},"title":"Discipline in the Home","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 16, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Irven Lee Truth Magazine, February 17, 1983 Children do not have the ability at birth to understand the language of their parents. We all realize this, but we should also understand that these little people do not know the commonly accepted rules of etiquette, nor do they recognize property\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":30183,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/a-fathers-gift\/","url_meta":{"origin":86785,"position":2},"title":"A Father’s Gift","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 11, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jefferson David Tant Fathers are often clueless about gift-giving for their children. That's Mom's job. But when we think of gifts, we usually think of material gifts-toys for toddlers, clothes, games, and sports equipment for teens. Or maybe the ultimate gift for a teen-a car! Many who are reading\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\/2021\/01\/father-and-daughter-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":40103,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/unconditional-love-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":86785,"position":3},"title":"Unconditional Love?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 29, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Benton in Answering Religious Error, April 15, 2015 That God's love is \"unconditional\" means one thing to one person and a different thing to someone else. The Bible does not use the expression \"unconditional love\" but does imply it. God \"so loved\" the world (John 3:16). That would\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":22176,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/was-cain-the-son-of-the-devil\/","url_meta":{"origin":86785,"position":4},"title":"Was Cain the son of the Devil?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 16, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: My Sunday school teacher says that Cain is the son of the Devil. I don't see where in the Bible this is true. Is it? Answer: If your teacher means physically, then it is time to find a better teacher. \"Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived\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":90774,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/responsibilities-of-husbands-and-fathers\/","url_meta":{"origin":86785,"position":5},"title":"Responsibilities of Husbands and Fathers","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 26, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Kerry Blackaby As Father's Day approaches, we plan to celebrate the husbands and fathers in our lives and what they mean to us. But are today's fathers what they used to be? Or more importantly, are they the kind of fathers described in the Bible? 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