Law and Love Part 1 - The Rule of Law

My blog has moved to:

 http://sandrariordan.com/ 

Hope to see you there for more recent posts!

 

Where there is order there is government, instruction, or rule that finds its origin in God. Where there is disorder, these God ordained authorities are no longer functioning the way they were designed. 

The rule of law does not exist by some random chance. It was God's idea. We see the rule of law in everything God created.  DNA instructs the development of the body; gravity governs the solar system, the boundaries of the oceans and the couch I am sitting on; a day is governed by the rising and setting of the sun;  Kings and authorities are put in place to rule over nations; principals give instruction and leadership to schools.  On and on I could go listing everything that exists and the authorities that govern them.   There is not a single thing on this planet that does not have something bigger than itself ruling over it.  It is the natural order of life on earth and in the universe and a testimony to the existence of a higher being.

What about the home? It is the smallest and oldest God ordained institution divinely designed to be a testimony to the world of Christ and the Church.   Is it any surprise that, just like the rest of the orderly world we live in, God put in place a governing authority to rule over the home? 

Because of this natural order of the rule of law, when the God ordained authority is dysfunctional, absent or inactive the lesser subject will appear to rule itself when, in actuality, it is being ruled by natural consequences.  You have probably seen this exemplified in some families you know.  The parents coerce, beg, give in, negotiate, end every command with "OK?" and don't enforce it, and the children don't seem to have any sense of right and wrong, constantly getting into trouble, begging and whining to get their way and succeeding, mayhem abounds everywhere they go and "Good grief!" no one wants to be around this family!! In this example, the God ordained authority, the parents, is inactive or, at best, dysfunctional.  It appears that the children are ruling over themselves but are actually being ruled by the natural consequences of their bad behavior.

Children are like water.  They will freely go where there is no resistance.  Take, for example, a glass of water.  Except for evaporation, the boundaries for the water are very well defined. There is no confusion on the part of the water (if it could think) as to where it can and cannot go or what it can and cannot do. The glass is the authority and does not give in to the water. The structure of the glass defines it and the strength of the glass enforces it. Parents, we are the structure and strength of our homes.  Children will submissively remain within the boundaries given if those boundaries are very well defined and enforced.  Without boundaries they will ultimately become destructive or at least very unhappy, unproductive adults.  Remove the boundary of the water in the glass and you have a mess, or when the boundaries of the water in a damn are removed the destruction is massive. The longer a child grows up without boundaries the more destructive they will be to self or the world around them.  This is not to say that the rule of law is all there is to parenting. Not at all. But it is a large part of the balance that will ultimately produce balanced adults out of our kids.

I understand how overwhelming and confusing being a parent can be sometimes!  We get advice and opinions about it coming at us from all directions especially on the subject of discipline.  Consider again, the truths in the opening of this blog. Doesn't it make sense that YOU, the parent, are empowered by God Himself to rule and govern your home?   If you have bought into the idea that we are equal subjects with our kids, or even less than that, please allow me the privilege of offering back to you what has always been rightfully yours: your kingship over your home.

So put down the white flag of surrender and pick up your crown.  I am cheering you on! =)

Some of my other blogs I have written, and will be writing in the future, will help you know what to do to reclaim authority in your home. The link below is also an excellent resource.

https://www.amazon.com/Train-Child-Child-Training-21st-Century/dp/1616440724/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1475695977&sr=8-1&keywords=to+train+up+a+child