Who’s In Charge Here?

She was such a cute little girl. They were having lunch at one of those fast food places that has the indoor playground that all kids love. She had eaten a little bit of her lunch, and then her mother (I’m assuming it was her mother) let her go play for just a little while. When that “little while” was up, her mother opened the door and told her it was time to go. 

What happened next was disturbing, to say the least. It was disturbing on several different levels. It disturbed the other kids who were playing in the same place. It disturbed those other people eating their lunch. It not only disturbed my lunch; it disturbed my ears and my heart!

You see, that little girl didn’t want to quit playing, so she threw such a fit that her mother said, “Ok, you can play a few more minutes.” And the standard was set. Throw a fit – scream and cry – and you get your way. She did – several more times. That scenario played out a number of times until, I am convinced, that child had been trained to react in that way. I wanted to say to that mother, “Who’s in charge here?”

I’ve seen this same technique in the toy section of Wal-Mart, as well as in Toys-R-Us, and other public places. Small people controlling big people with loud, disruptive behavior. Sometimes the big people smile and shake their heads to those around them, as if to say, “I just can’t stand to see them cry,” or “I just don’t know how to control their behavior.”

May I make just a few Biblical suggestions?

• The wise man of old had something to say about this in Proverbs 13:24, “Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.” 
• He went on to say in Proverbs 22:15, “Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far from him.”
• The sons of Eli, the priest, were referred to as “worthless men” in 1 Samuel 2:12. The reason for that description is found as you continue reading about the life of these two young men. They were sinful and “he (Eli) did not restrain them (1 Samuel 3:13).”
• The writer of Hebrews also used the example of a father disciplining his children when he says: “…we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them…for they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them…For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:9-11).

Our children need parents to step up to the plate and love them enough to teach them who is in charge. God is in charge and He has commanded parents to diligently teach and train their children – and that training includes how to behave in public.

We live in a society that frowns upon spanking as a form of discipline. Some states even have laws against spanking. God’s word still teaches that parents are responsible for the training and discipline of their children.

If I asked you who won that day in that play area at the fast food restaurant, you would probably say that little girl did. We all know that the mother did not win that battle. But I would argue with you that the little girl lost that day, and so did her mother. Satan won that day. A parent failed to follow God’s word and allowed a very cute, small child to rule that day.

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AUTHOR: Donna Faughn

Photo credit: Timo Stearn on Unsplash