We are good friends with the Pritchards who have an amazing family ministry. One of their tips is to not deal with a child’s will but deal with their conscience. That is where God works. Ask questions like, “How do you think that made your sister feel?” or “What would that feel like if someone did that to you?” or “How do you think that made God feel?” You can use all sorts of means to get them to obey, but our goal is to get to their hearts. My own personal Bible Study reflected this thought today, so I think it is fitting to pass it along. The writer of my Bible study, Kelly Minter, put it this way, “…surrender is about the will; trust is about the heart.” It holds true in our relationship with God, but it also reflects our relationship with our kids. We want them to learn to trust us and really grasp, at the heart level, the benefits of doing the right thing.
