are we failing our children?

Let's not fall into the trap of harmful, misguided "compassion": “Warn those who are idle” 1 Thess. 5:14 “We gave you this rule: ‘If a man will not work, he shall not eat…We hear that some among you are idle…Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ, to settle down and earn the bread they eat.” (2 Thess. 3:11-13)

i have never wanted for anything in my life. i have been blessed and fortunate that i came from a family that worked very hard. most of them still do, and they instilled those values in me. i married a man that came from a family with an incredible work ethic. so he takes the responsibility of providing for us very seriously. before we decided i would stay at home, i worked very hard. i loved working. there is great fullfillment in earning your daily bread.

there are a great deal of individuals that are in need in this country today. there are a lot of individuals that want to support their families and can't, but what about the individuals that can work but won't. what about the individuals that feel a job is beneath them? how do we handle that?

there a lot of pastors or teachers of scripture that tend to "sugar coat" our trials. GOD said that we would go through trials, but that is HIS way of making you return to HIM and focus on HIS teachings. HE has a greater purpose for all things in our sufferings.

are we failing to teach our children that they must work just as GOD told them by allowing them to be rewarded for everything?

there is new rule in our house that if a toy is damaged it goes in the trash and it is not replaced. my children have to understand that life is beautiful and hard all at the same time. i have to raise men, not men that think they deserve the world without working for it. they have to understand there is a consequence to not obeying their parents, or GOD. we have lost the ability of accountability in this world and if our children don't understand this then we have failed as parents.

when GOD gives you the gift of raising one of HIS children HE expects you to take care of that child's need no matter what. HE expects you to clothe, feed and protect that child and instill that value in them. i'm afraid that we are teaching our children by our actions that they will lack for nothing even when they don't work for it. what are we doing? our children are innocent and they have to be taught everyday, all day so they can survive in the world. they have to understand that all things come from GOD when they are willing to work hard for that. GOD blesses us in our trials and we must glorify HIM for that and see the bigger picture.

my sons see a man everyday that is willing to do anything for them. they see a man that treats his wife and her needs with respect. they see a man that provides a home, so their mother can watch and care for them everyday without working outside of the home. they see a man that doesn't take hand-outs just because he can. they see a man that will always be willing to put GOD first and provide. they see parents that would be willing to work 5 jobs just to put food on the table.

i read a quote once that a woman wrote that said teaching children about GOD is abuse. why would any rational person say that? now i could understand if someone was teaching only about hell and sin, then the parent is obviously not teaching about the grace and blessings of GOD. my mother worked as a social worker for over 30 years by the time she retired and i saw parents that abused their children in ways that were unforgivable. one of the saddest reasons is neglect and parents putting themselves above an innocent child. so many of them abused the system of just wanting the money for drugs and alcohol, and not for the care of their children. helping someone in need is one thing, but enabling someones selfishness is another.

with political correctness overcoming this country we have failed to tell our children that if we can't afford it we don't buy it. greed is the reason that our economy is failing. we wanted more than what we needed, because we thought we deserved that. we were willing to take loans, or more credit than we could afford. when are we going to take accountability for what is happening to us?