Christian Parents: Odd, old or on the ball?
Some parents do strange things, and many find technology a challenge, but does that mean we shouldn't listen to them?
Parents can be very odd. I am not sure about your parents, but mine said some very strange things to me when I was growing up. They would ask strange questions:
- "Do you want a smack?" ... No one really wants a smack do they?
- "What are these?" ... Socks, I thought you would know what they are mum. (Just for reference most questions like this do not require you to answer, or you get in more trouble).
They know a lot about random subjects, and say strange things
- "Worst pigsty I have ever seen!" … How many pigsties have you seen, and ranked?
- "This is going to hurt me more than it does you".
- "Do something constructive." … I guess this is why I became a builder.
- "I am sick and tired of..."
- "You have another thing coming..."
- "I brought you into this world and I will take you out of it."
Yep, parents can be very odd. Thinking about things they say or do makes me wonder if they have a course they have to complete with strange sayings. What are some odd things your parents say or do?
Parents can be very old
Have you seen some parents try and send an SMS, or even a picture on their phone? My dad has the one finger text, where it takes him about a minute to find a letter. TV remote controls are something they need refresher courses in. Looking at photos of them back in their 'heyday' with a mullet so big it is like a cape, or a pair of flares like a parachute. A sign that parents are old is how they use Facebook, maybe writing on someone's wall when it should have been a message.
True signs parents are old is that they say things like, "back in my day, kids had respect … or manners … or were not as lazy". Maybe they tell you how tough it was, riding 16,000 miles to school, or they did all the work at home, milking cows, picking potatoes AND with a grateful attitude. I just don't know why they call these the 'good' old days. What are some things that make you say, "my parents are old?"
Parents can be on the ball
There is a book in the Bible called Proverbs, mostly thought to be written by an Israelite king called Solomon. This book is filled with wise sayings, many written from a father to his son. Proverbs contains simple sayings that challenge, change and correct us. Solomon writes:
Hear, my son, your father's instruction, and forsake not your mother's teaching, for they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck. (Proverbs 1:8-9)
Parents are odd and old, but they are also on the ball. The truth of the matter is they have not only lived through life themselves, they have watched their peers and other younger people and survived. They have made mistakes; they have made right choices. They know what is best for you (not what you want now but what you will thank them for in the future).
We sometimes think that our friends might be the best source of advice, but most of the time it is like getting a five year old child to teach a kindergarten class. Sometimes our friends just think they know everything.
Parents might not understand Facebook, but they do understand a lot of the struggles we have growing up, because they had the same struggles. They understand what peer pressure is like. They understand what being bullied is like. They understand what it is like to have friends that let you down. They understand what it is like to like a guy or a girl. Parents are on the ball. Many of the issues you face today, are the same your parents faced.
A heavenly father that wants what's best
Hopefully, we all have parents that love us and want the best for us, but even more than that we have God. Jesus called God 'Father', or 'Abba' in the Greek, meaning 'Daddy'. We have a Father in heaven that wants us to listen to his instruction and wisdom found in the Bible. You might want a boyfriend or a girlfriend now, or wish that you were not a Christian because then you can do all this 'cool' stuff that will make you happy, for a short time.
But what God really wants for you is to know his son who died for us on the cross. Jesus hung in the middle of two thieves, while been mocked and yelled at. He went in our place, for all the wrong we have done, and paid for all the times we choose our desires over God's.
God doesn't want us just doing our own thing; he wants what is best for us. He wants us to be holy, becoming more and more like Jesus. He loves us more deeply than a parent and knows what we need more than anybody else.
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