Gò0dNews

Gò0dNews for Parents
Hang Tough
by Craig Thompson
t was embarrassing. I re-
it clearly. Grow-
Imember
ing up, my family used to
sing in church, and sometimes
I was too scared to join them.
One particular church night, I
was listening to the choir singing
and suddenly realized that I
was about one verse and chorus
away from having to go up on
stage. So I bailed. In my cleverness,
I lay down on the church
pew and feigned a deep slumber.
When the choir singing ended
and my family was called up to
sing, I continued lying there. My
dad may have even shaken my
shoulder. I didn’t move.
I could hear my family members
making their way to stand
around the piano, but my mom
didn’t strike the usual chords to
introduce the song. There was
a pause that would have sent
many worship leaders into
panic mode. Then
my mom spoke over her microphone
and said—in front of the
whole church—“We’re just waiting
for Craig to join us.”
Busted and red-faced, I slowly
got up from my “deep sleep”
and made my way to the front
of the church with what seemed
like a thousand eyes upon me.
I took my place with the rest of
the family. Mom started playing
the piano and we sang a song
together.
And I learned a hard lesson.
My parents could be tough to
deal with. They weren’t afraid to
call me out—in public, if necessary—to
make sure I did the
right thing.
That wasn’t the last time I
encountered the stern resistance
of a parent. I found out many
times that my so-called irresistible
force wasn’t going to budge
the immoveable object of my
parents’ will. I spent periods of
time in
my childhood being angry,
frustrated, and irritated with
my parents. I also didn’t spend
my childhood doing a bunch of
the stupid things that my peers
were doing. I didn’t appreciate
the pain that it cost my parents
to have to be stubborn in their
child-rearing ways. Now I do.
Years ago a good friend told
me, “When you’re raising children,
try to say yes as much as
possible.” There’s wisdom in
that, but I’ve learned that when
I do say no, it has to stick. My
God-given job is not to be my
child’s best friend. My job is to
be the parent. Being a godly parent
means being tough as nails
at times to help save a child’s
soul from hell and prevent him
or her from living in misery and
sharing it with everyone else.
At times I’ve also watched my
siblings who are single parents
do the same, so I know it doesn’t
require two parents.
There is an alternate way, an
easier way. Proverbs 29:15 describes
it: “The rod and reproof
give wisdom: but a child left
to himself bringeth his mother
to shame” (KJV). What kind of
child are you raising
Do the right thing. Hang
tough!
20 // January 2015
Craig Thompson is
an author and
speaker. You can read
more of his material
at walkwithgod.com.