1 Samuel 8:5
“And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.”
I was sitting at a restaurant with a friend of mine when a couple from his church walked in. He waved at them as they were going to their seat and told me that they were from his church. Honestly, the family looked a bit rough, but this preacher greatly complimented them by telling me that their children were some of the best youth in his church. He told me not to let their appearance fool me because they seemed to have their family life under control as evidenced by their children.
On the other hand, I remember when I was still a child that my father would oftentimes take me with him when he took missionaries out to eat. There was one missionary family that I still remember, not because of the presentation of their field or because of his preaching, but I remember them because of their children. We sat in the restaurant trying to have a good meal, but their children were jumping from booth to booth. It got so bad that the manager came over and told us that unless we got control of the children that we would have to leave the restaurant. Needless to say, they didn’t get our church’s support.
The one thing that validated or invalidated these parents to others were how they controlled their children. Right or wrong, their children were the determining factor of what others thought about them. This is very much what happened with Samuel. Samuel was the beloved prophet, but his boys were out of control. It was so bad that the people of the land wanted a king over them because they didn’t want Samuel’s sons leading them. Sadly, though he was a good prophet, his son’s actions took some of the luster away because of their ability to follow their father’s instructions on how to live.
If you are a parent, let me encourage you to work hard on controlling your children, especially in public. Every parent understands that a child will at some point embarrass them in public, but it shouldn’t be a common occurrence. People should know that your children are under such control that if they do act up everyone knows it will be a long night for that child when they get home. I have found that if a parent will take the time to be sure their children are under control at home, they will mirror the same actions in public.
Parent, stop letting the children rule you and be a parent. Start dictating how they should act. It is simply done by having rules, boundaries and limitations by which you expect them to live. Whenever they break those rules, boundaries or limitations, they should be punished accordingly. It isn’t always easy, but if you will take the time to establish the rules boundaries and limitations, especially when they are young, you will be rewarded by their obedience in public.
Let me ask you, if we looked at how your child acted most of the time, would your ministry or family be validated? It may seem unfair, but people judge you by how your children act. Let me encourage you to not be aloof to what your children do in public. Always know where they are, who they are with and what they are doing. This is a parent’s responsibility. When your children know that you always know where they are, what they are doing and that you will discipline them if they do wrong, they will act right when they are in public.