You Don’t Have To Settle For Second Best!

The biggest lament of our generation is wayward children. They are undisciplined and unruly. Their self-will is the overriding ‘end all and be all’. Teachers are at their wits end to get them to sit down and pay attention so that they can be teachable.

We are breeding a generation of ‘idiots’ who ‘know it all’ and who have everything at their fingertips. Literally, they can write without thinking using their fingertips because of auto-correct and autocomplete. Children don’t see the need to learn how to spell in this generation. Sadly, the technology that was meant to save us, ironically, is going to kill us.

So, where do we look for help? King David was a man after God’s own heart. He had ‘relationship’ with God. This means he sought God’s face in all areas of his life. God was his confidante. Susanne Wesley raised her 10 surviving children (3 boys and 7 girls) on godly principles. Her life was tough but like King David, she also sought God in all areas of her life.

Here are the six principles Susanne Wesley used for raising her children.

1. Subdue self-will and thus work with God to save his soul.
2. Teach him to pray as soon as he can talk.
3. Give him nothing he cries for and give only if he asks politely.
4. To prevent lying, punish no fault that is freely confessed but never allow a rebellious, sinful act to go unnoticed.
5. Command and reward good behaviour.
6. Strictly observe all promises you have made to your child.

Imagine what this world would be like, if we implemented those six principles that Susanne Wesley taught her children. Thanks to the dedication of this strong mother, we enjoy the benefits of her sons’ input into Christian living. Charles Wesley became a musician who wrote more than 6000 hymns/songs and John Wesley became the founding father of the Methodist church. Samuel Wesley was a cleric, poet and writer. Susanne Wesley home-schooled all ten of her children. What an amazing accomplishment!

Proverbs 22:6 (KJB) says, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Children raised on solid principles become solid pillars in society. They are the ones who can lead the next generation into becoming a great and powerful nation. ◊

Linda Pearl