01/09/2019
Always correct your children
I greet you in the name of the Lord God Almighty. Today’s message is themed “Always correct your children”. Our bible reading is taken from Proverbs 23:12-14. Let’s take the verses 12; Apply your ear to instruction and your ear to the words of knowledge. This goes to the youth, the bible is telling you to heed to instructions from parents, guardians or any elderly person. In today’s world the youth are tough-eared that they think they know too much more than their parents who even brought them to this world. Sometimes you may feel that you are old enough to know what you feel is good for you but remember that, that elderly person advising you came to the world before you did, so he knows what he is telling you. There is this Akan adage that goes “what an elderly person sees sitting, a child will not see when standing on the tallest mountain”. It continues to say in the verses 13 that “Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you beat him with a rod he will not die”. We have control of our kids when they are young, for children are like young plants that when crooked can be straightened easily. It has now gotten to a point where the devil has now deceived and found his way into the hearts of some leaders that children should not be lashed at school, so now the children can misbehave and not be caned. Meanwhile those leaders were caned when they were in school and that has shaped their lives and has made them what they are now. Why do we want to spoil our kids? Why do we want to follow the western way of living? We are Africans and should be proud of who we are. We should be able to teach our children the right way in which they should be behave. Because of the ignorance of some parents, some youth now behave in an indiscipline way that does not correlate with the word of God. It gets to a point when a parent deserts his or her child to leave home for more than a week and when you ask that parent, he or she will tell you “I don’t know where my child is” and continue to say I have spoken to him or her but to no avail. Look I tell you we have control of our kids when they are young. When we don’t shape them young it would be difficult for us to do that when they are old. Nowadays I see parents and their young kids sitting behind a television set watching movies and music videos with all sort of nudity and are happy doing that with their children. What are we teaching our kids nowadays? Why do we let the children do what they want to do? The bible even says that foolishness is in the heart of a child; I tell you today that if we permit our kids to do what they want, they would perish. It’s high time we started teaching our kids the right way to walk on that they do not depart from it when they grow. Our children need to know the righteous, prosperous and life saving path to move on. Parents ought to teach their children the words of God, ethics and to correct them when they go wrong. The way we correct our children, what we tell them, how we speak to them and how we nurture them goes a very long way in shaping their lives. It amazes me when I see a parent allowing his or her 7- year- old child watching telenovelas as at 10pm meanwhile that kid would go to school the next morning. Is this the way to bring up a child? We will be judged by God Almighty by the waywardness of our children if we don’t teach them the right path. This is what some parents do not know so allow their kids to do what they like and behave anyhow. So now we see very young people wearing what they should not wear and misbehaving on the streets of Ghana which is very wrong. The bible continues to say in the verses 14 that If you beat him or her with a rod you will save his or her life from Sheol. Sheol means eternal death which is Hell. So, my dear parents this what God is telling us; I therefore entreat us all to teach and guide our kids and even not only our kids but the young ones the right way to move on and am sure this would go a long way in shaping their lives and would create a better, sound, and safe Ghana. I pray the Almighty Father gives us the heart to love, care and guide our young ones. God bless us all in Jesus’ mighty name. Amen.
- Pastor Philip Osei
