I am taking a New Testament class as part
of my schooling. This week I read Matt 18:6 In which Jesus tells his disciples:
"But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it
were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he
were drowned in the depth of the sea". The Greek word for
"offense" is skandalon, its meaning is boiled down to a "stumbling
block". (More on the Greek word can be found here). This verse got me thinking about my children
and how I treat them. What offenses or "stumbling blocks" do I place in my
children's way? Does my example help my children follow the path of
righteousness?
My goal for this semester is to better
express love to my children by word and deed. I am not perfect. I run out of
patience and end up yelling and grumpy, or unpleasant to be around. This is a habit I want to replace with love and kindness. I want to treat my children as
Jesus treated those He served and taught.
I came across a message by President
Gordon B. Hinkley, (The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-Day Saints). I feel this is a message meant
for me to find. I would like to share some thought Pres. Hinkley had on
children.
“If you are worried
about the future, then look to the upbringing of your children.”
Children are a blessing from God. He has entrusted their safety to Earthly parents. We are to take care of, teach, and provide both spiritually and physically for their needs. As we raise our children we ca strive to teach them the difference between right and wrong and how to show love, kindness, and respect. These
attributes will help them live a happy life and make correct choices which can
shape the future.
President Hinkley also shared this
wonderful thought from E.T. Sullivan about how God gets things done.
“When God wants a
great work done in the world or a great wrong righted, he goes about it in a
very unusual way. He doesn’t stir up his earthquakes or send forth his
thunderbolts. Instead, he has a helpless baby born, perhaps in a simple home of
some obscure mother. And then God puts the idea into the mother’s heart, and
she puts it into the baby’s mind. And then God waits. The greatest forces in
the world are not the earthquakes and the thunderbolts. The greatest forces in
the world are babies” (quoted in The Treasure Chest, ed. Charles L. Wallis
[1965], 53).
“And those babies, I should like to add, will become forces
for good or ill, depending in large measure on how they are reared.”
President Hinkley said “If I may be
pardoned for suggesting the obvious, I do so only because the obvious is not
observed in so many instances. The obvious includes four imperatives with
reference to children: love them, teach them, respect them,
pray with them and for them.”
I think these are the simplest ways to help our children.
One last thing from Pres. Hinkley: “Do you want a spirit of love to grow in the world? Then begin within the walls of your own home. Behold your little ones and see within them the wonders of God, from whose presence they have recently come.” Read the talk here!
So how does this all tie in to not causing our children to stumble? This week I have been considering what my example is teaching my children. Are the things I am doing a stumbling block for my little ones? Will my example teach them ways to live that will make life even more difficult? Do my words and habits invite or repel a love of the Savior and His teachings? These are some of the questions I need to keep asking myself every week.
My actions speak louder than my words. Children understand and see much more from our actions than they do from our words. If our actions and words don't line up they will see that we don't believe what we are saying.
When I lose my patience with a child it may be seen by all my
children. This is not a good way to teach the children I have been entrusted
with. I have learned that my actions, words, and
even habits can be stumbling blocks place before my children.
I would invite you to ask yourself the same questions I have been considering this week. What actions, words, or habits are your children learning from you? What possible stumbling blocks are you placing before your children? What corrections can you make?
