Thursday, August 27, 2015
Children are More Disrespectful Than Ever Before!
An excellent article on the condition of our culture today. Follow the link!
Parent Abuse by Adult Children
I have been researching the matter of parent abuse, I am not talking about parents who abuse children, how ever I am talking about adult children who abuse elderly parents.
When I came against the teaching of self esteem 40 years ago, many believers were defending it. While the parents were treating their own parents with a reasonable amount of respect, they were in the process of teaching their children to treat them with disrespect when they become adults.
Pampering and indulging the children to maintain peace in the house only managed to create future monsters, now the adults who are treating their elderly parents with dishonor and disrespect. They feel equal to their parents rather than approaching them in reverence.
There are many parents who are now feeling broken and estranged from their own adult children for two reasons, the first one is the divorce and remarriage problem and then there is the cultural influence of our children in public schools. The teachers treated the children as equals even allowing them to call them by their first names, which is clearly a breakdown in authority. While the parent at home was attempting to teach authority and honor, the teachers at school were teaching them to think of themselves first.
I have read articles written by estranged parents from their adult children that give us clues as to why the children are acting in this fashion. The parents are lamenting the fact that their adult children are treating them contemptuously after they come back home to live when they couldn't make it in the world. Not only are the adult children treating them with disrespect, they show no gratefulness for the charity of their parents. There is a sense of scorn in the adult child's attitude as though what their parents are giving them is a right rather than a gift. These stories indicate to me that many parents have been pampering their children all along or they would not be coming back home to live with an attitude of entitlement and contempt. Godly children seek to take care of their aging parents rather than expecting their aging parents to carry them.
Sadly I believe this attitude toward parents is the mentality that slops over into their view of God, they feel they have the right to salvation and wealth, rather than seeing it as a blessing for which to be grateful. It is difficult for those who feel entitled to ever be humbled in order to come to Christ.
My guess is that many of these parents have been pampering their children all along, allowing them to speak disrespectfully while giving them their desires every time they had a tantrum. Little did these parents realize that pampering and bailing out a naughty child at ten years of age, would result in bratty and immature adults later.
Not all parents who encounter this immense disrespect have been bad parents, even if the children claim they were in some way. Many parents did the best they could, in their humanly imperfect state, but took good care of their children even raising them while deeply concerned about them.
Our culture has lost something along the way, that was important. As children we were taught to treat parents with honor and respect whether or not we agreed with them. We were taught to speak to them with kindness even if their lives were not what we thought they should be. We never raised our voices to our parents as young adults, that was completely unacceptable. And, never did we snap at them to intimidate them.
Now we have children and their spouses who treat us with contempt, acting superior, smart mouthing over the smallest matters, while demanding attention for themselves. They demean and manipulate the parents, working them emotionally because of the love they know their parents have for them.
The moral of the story: because parents were far too interested in being liked by their children, while the culture placed pressure on weak parents to capitulate to the self esteem teaching, we now have an entire generation of disrespectful, arrogant individuals who lack empathy.
This all happened because of the removal of God from our culture. If the Bible had been the rule book for raising our children, we would not be going through this mess now.
The principles of the Bible were what directed the country for many years since it's beginning, so much so that even those who were not born again loved those rules and principles that governed us. That's all gone now! How can we expect to regain it when each day another principle is thrown out, in favor of useless psychological pablum.
Psalm 9:17, ”The wicked shall be turned into Hell, and all the nations that forget God.”
When I came against the teaching of self esteem 40 years ago, many believers were defending it. While the parents were treating their own parents with a reasonable amount of respect, they were in the process of teaching their children to treat them with disrespect when they become adults.
Pampering and indulging the children to maintain peace in the house only managed to create future monsters, now the adults who are treating their elderly parents with dishonor and disrespect. They feel equal to their parents rather than approaching them in reverence.
There are many parents who are now feeling broken and estranged from their own adult children for two reasons, the first one is the divorce and remarriage problem and then there is the cultural influence of our children in public schools. The teachers treated the children as equals even allowing them to call them by their first names, which is clearly a breakdown in authority. While the parent at home was attempting to teach authority and honor, the teachers at school were teaching them to think of themselves first.
I have read articles written by estranged parents from their adult children that give us clues as to why the children are acting in this fashion. The parents are lamenting the fact that their adult children are treating them contemptuously after they come back home to live when they couldn't make it in the world. Not only are the adult children treating them with disrespect, they show no gratefulness for the charity of their parents. There is a sense of scorn in the adult child's attitude as though what their parents are giving them is a right rather than a gift. These stories indicate to me that many parents have been pampering their children all along or they would not be coming back home to live with an attitude of entitlement and contempt. Godly children seek to take care of their aging parents rather than expecting their aging parents to carry them.
Sadly I believe this attitude toward parents is the mentality that slops over into their view of God, they feel they have the right to salvation and wealth, rather than seeing it as a blessing for which to be grateful. It is difficult for those who feel entitled to ever be humbled in order to come to Christ.
My guess is that many of these parents have been pampering their children all along, allowing them to speak disrespectfully while giving them their desires every time they had a tantrum. Little did these parents realize that pampering and bailing out a naughty child at ten years of age, would result in bratty and immature adults later.
Not all parents who encounter this immense disrespect have been bad parents, even if the children claim they were in some way. Many parents did the best they could, in their humanly imperfect state, but took good care of their children even raising them while deeply concerned about them.
Our culture has lost something along the way, that was important. As children we were taught to treat parents with honor and respect whether or not we agreed with them. We were taught to speak to them with kindness even if their lives were not what we thought they should be. We never raised our voices to our parents as young adults, that was completely unacceptable. And, never did we snap at them to intimidate them.
Now we have children and their spouses who treat us with contempt, acting superior, smart mouthing over the smallest matters, while demanding attention for themselves. They demean and manipulate the parents, working them emotionally because of the love they know their parents have for them.
The moral of the story: because parents were far too interested in being liked by their children, while the culture placed pressure on weak parents to capitulate to the self esteem teaching, we now have an entire generation of disrespectful, arrogant individuals who lack empathy.
This all happened because of the removal of God from our culture. If the Bible had been the rule book for raising our children, we would not be going through this mess now.
The principles of the Bible were what directed the country for many years since it's beginning, so much so that even those who were not born again loved those rules and principles that governed us. That's all gone now! How can we expect to regain it when each day another principle is thrown out, in favor of useless psychological pablum.
Psalm 9:17, ”The wicked shall be turned into Hell, and all the nations that forget God.”
Demons Cannot Dwell in a Born Again Believer
A born again believer cannot be possessed, the demons flee from the Holy Spirit that lives in us, but they can oppress us, even attack our thought life. Job was attacked by the devil with God's permission to show Job's faithfulness while showing Job that God was still there with him.
What we are seeing now, demons controlling and possessing Christians may be because most who say they are Christians were never born again in the first place.
Acts 9:15 "…14Seven sons of one Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. 15And the evil spirit answered and said to them, "I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?" 16And the man, in whom was the evil spirit, leaped on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.…"
This passage is an example of those who thought they were saved and had the power of God who were not, the demons were able to overpower them.
What we are seeing now, demons controlling and possessing Christians may be because most who say they are Christians were never born again in the first place.
Acts 9:15 "…14Seven sons of one Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. 15And the evil spirit answered and said to them, "I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?" 16And the man, in whom was the evil spirit, leaped on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.…"
This passage is an example of those who thought they were saved and had the power of God who were not, the demons were able to overpower them.
Secular Psychology is not the Answer
I have felt led to clarify something that could be misunderstood by those reading my posts.
I am convinced that secular psychology has almost nothing to offer the believer other than their ability to observe the obvious.
When a believer witnesses a person doing evil we know that the evil they do is coming from their heart, they are doing their dastardly deeds for no other reason except to follow their sinful heart. Often that heart is full of pride, believing they have the right to do anything they want and when thwarted by others, they will lash out in their flesh, permeated by the sin within.
Secular psychology can observe the bad behavior of someone and call it bad, but they assign wrong motive to it. Since their premise is that all mankind is basically good, then the motives of the evil person must be that they are angry about what others did to them.
To assign innocence to an evil doer because others may have done them evil is ludicrous at best. What about the evil that he does to others, do they get to blame him for his actions against them?
Secular mankind looks for excuses based on evolution, that man can do no wrong, he is only another animal, that is merely being stimulated to follow his instinct based on his experiences.
God says exactly the opposite, man is not basically good, rather, man is basically evil. We see this in our daily lives. Mankind does not retaliate against a perceived wrong, that may not even have been a wrong, he is just plain selfish and wants his way no matter who he has to roll over to get it.
Jeremiah 17:9 "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?"
Proverbs 29:1 "1 A man who hardens his neck after much reproof Will suddenly be broken beyond remedy. 2 When the righteous increase, the people rejoice, But when a wicked man rules, people groan.…"
Secular psychology can tell us what is happening, but they do not have the right answers as to why it is happening nor do they have the solution to the sin-sick souls of men. They can, at times give methods that seem to work for awhile, but they cannot fix the soul of a man.
Christ is the only One Who can fix the soul of a man, creating in him a new creature, completely changed. Removing all evil desires with residue that is dealt with as we are being cleansed. Even though believers do sin, they hate that they sin and their heart wants to make things right again through confession and forsaking.
1 Corinthians 5:17 " 17Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 18Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation,"
Secular psychology wrongly instructs people that they will never be cured of certain sin, calling them diseases. All sin can be resolved through confession to Christ depending on Him to remove it from us, this takes faith.
When I speak of narcissism frequently, it is to help those who have been victims of it. Those who have been beaten down so severely that they no longer have a personality or the confidence to carry on in a normal fashion. I also speak of it, using a secular term to describe the passage in 2 Timothy 3:1-5. The seculars know the ailment, but they don't know the description of it comes from the Bible. They also cannot accurately assess the solution, which is Christ alone. In short they know the problem but they do not know the true cause nor do they have a solution that is permanent.
So the gist of the matter is that we should not look to secular psychology for our solutions, the Bible is our guide. Egypt has long been synonymous with sin and secularism, God tells us in His Word not to go to psychology for our help.
Isaiah 31:1 "Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help And rely on horses, And trust in chariots because they are many And in horsemen because they are very strong, But they do not look to the Holy One of Israel, nor seek the LORD!"
I am convinced that secular psychology has almost nothing to offer the believer other than their ability to observe the obvious.
When a believer witnesses a person doing evil we know that the evil they do is coming from their heart, they are doing their dastardly deeds for no other reason except to follow their sinful heart. Often that heart is full of pride, believing they have the right to do anything they want and when thwarted by others, they will lash out in their flesh, permeated by the sin within.
Secular psychology can observe the bad behavior of someone and call it bad, but they assign wrong motive to it. Since their premise is that all mankind is basically good, then the motives of the evil person must be that they are angry about what others did to them.
To assign innocence to an evil doer because others may have done them evil is ludicrous at best. What about the evil that he does to others, do they get to blame him for his actions against them?
Secular mankind looks for excuses based on evolution, that man can do no wrong, he is only another animal, that is merely being stimulated to follow his instinct based on his experiences.
God says exactly the opposite, man is not basically good, rather, man is basically evil. We see this in our daily lives. Mankind does not retaliate against a perceived wrong, that may not even have been a wrong, he is just plain selfish and wants his way no matter who he has to roll over to get it.
Jeremiah 17:9 "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?"
Proverbs 29:1 "1 A man who hardens his neck after much reproof Will suddenly be broken beyond remedy. 2 When the righteous increase, the people rejoice, But when a wicked man rules, people groan.…"
Secular psychology can tell us what is happening, but they do not have the right answers as to why it is happening nor do they have the solution to the sin-sick souls of men. They can, at times give methods that seem to work for awhile, but they cannot fix the soul of a man.
Christ is the only One Who can fix the soul of a man, creating in him a new creature, completely changed. Removing all evil desires with residue that is dealt with as we are being cleansed. Even though believers do sin, they hate that they sin and their heart wants to make things right again through confession and forsaking.
1 Corinthians 5:17 " 17Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 18Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation,"
Secular psychology wrongly instructs people that they will never be cured of certain sin, calling them diseases. All sin can be resolved through confession to Christ depending on Him to remove it from us, this takes faith.
When I speak of narcissism frequently, it is to help those who have been victims of it. Those who have been beaten down so severely that they no longer have a personality or the confidence to carry on in a normal fashion. I also speak of it, using a secular term to describe the passage in 2 Timothy 3:1-5. The seculars know the ailment, but they don't know the description of it comes from the Bible. They also cannot accurately assess the solution, which is Christ alone. In short they know the problem but they do not know the true cause nor do they have a solution that is permanent.
So the gist of the matter is that we should not look to secular psychology for our solutions, the Bible is our guide. Egypt has long been synonymous with sin and secularism, God tells us in His Word not to go to psychology for our help.
Isaiah 31:1 "Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help And rely on horses, And trust in chariots because they are many And in horsemen because they are very strong, But they do not look to the Holy One of Israel, nor seek the LORD!"
We Are The Remnant
Remnant Definition: My thoughts
A small quantity of remaining leftovers. The part that is rejected and thrown away.
As believers we know from the Word that those who have trusted Christ have always been a remnant and always will be, compared to the population of the world.
We are the people who are despised, rejected, omitted and maligned frequently by those who are of the world. Our straight talk and bold confidence leaves us targets for those who love lies and deceit.
The good news is that we are in a foreign land on this earth, we are here with a mission, not to make it our home. We know that we will be moving on soon, our life is short and what we do here is with the goal of spreading the Word so that others may find the peace and salvation of the Lord as we have experienced.
Isaiah 10:20 "20 In that day the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no more lean on him who struck them, but will lean on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth."
Matthew 7:13-14 "13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few."
Romans 11:4-6 "…4But what is the divine response to him? "I HAVE KEPT for Myself SEVEN THOUSAND MEN WHO HAVE NOT BOWED THE KNEE TO BAAL." 5In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to God's gracious choice. 6But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.…"
There was a day in Israel centuries ago when those who loved God thought they were all alone, they felt isolated and lonely, but God sought to comfort them by allowing them to know they were not alone entirely, there were others. Just like now, as the remnant experiences the effects of the great apostasy in the church, we sometimes think we are alone, notice how God has given us the internet to connect with those who love Him. We know we are not alone, we may have distance between us, but our hearts are connected by Christ Jesus!
What an exciting thought that is, to know that God cares enough about us to bring us all together in cyper-space, who would have ever guessed this was possible just 30 years ago.
We have every reason to rejoice in all of God's provision and loving care of each of us.
A small quantity of remaining leftovers. The part that is rejected and thrown away.
As believers we know from the Word that those who have trusted Christ have always been a remnant and always will be, compared to the population of the world.
We are the people who are despised, rejected, omitted and maligned frequently by those who are of the world. Our straight talk and bold confidence leaves us targets for those who love lies and deceit.
The good news is that we are in a foreign land on this earth, we are here with a mission, not to make it our home. We know that we will be moving on soon, our life is short and what we do here is with the goal of spreading the Word so that others may find the peace and salvation of the Lord as we have experienced.
Isaiah 10:20 "20 In that day the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no more lean on him who struck them, but will lean on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth."
Matthew 7:13-14 "13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few."
Romans 11:4-6 "…4But what is the divine response to him? "I HAVE KEPT for Myself SEVEN THOUSAND MEN WHO HAVE NOT BOWED THE KNEE TO BAAL." 5In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to God's gracious choice. 6But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.…"
There was a day in Israel centuries ago when those who loved God thought they were all alone, they felt isolated and lonely, but God sought to comfort them by allowing them to know they were not alone entirely, there were others. Just like now, as the remnant experiences the effects of the great apostasy in the church, we sometimes think we are alone, notice how God has given us the internet to connect with those who love Him. We know we are not alone, we may have distance between us, but our hearts are connected by Christ Jesus!
What an exciting thought that is, to know that God cares enough about us to bring us all together in cyper-space, who would have ever guessed this was possible just 30 years ago.
We have every reason to rejoice in all of God's provision and loving care of each of us.
Selfishness Rules the Unsaved
The unsaved have a very different idea of "good" than the righteous man does. Evil people believe it is good for a woman to act immorally, when she suffers the consequences of that sin, even becoming pregnant out of wedlock, it is, in their minds, good to kill the baby to return the mother to her former life without any responsibilities.
Believers know that the best thing is to avoid all sexual sin outside marriage, then the consequences of pregnancy will not happen, the baby will not be killed and when that woman chooses to marry before engaging in sexual activity, she will have a husband and any children from that union will be alive and having a father. Believers know that two parent families are vitally important to the welfare of the children.
The unsaved believe it is good to "shack up" without commitment. Believers know that shacking up is nearly a guarantee that there will be a split eventually, the children from that experience will be abandoned by one or both parents, leaving scars that cannot be removed. Anger rages in the heart of a child who has been treated so wrecklessly.
There is so much more about the faulty and selfish thinking of the unsaved, making bad good and good bad. Our culture can see the devastation of the thinking of the unsaved. Sadly we see people who claim to be believers falling in line with the world, feeling the effects on their families as they neglect the principles of God.
The only solution for those who have ignored God and His principles, is to become born again, changed in their very nature from the evil they are to the righteousness of Christ by the Holy Spirit.
Stacy Freeman
The greater portion a man has of the Spirit of Christ the more he seeks the good of all men.
Believers know that the best thing is to avoid all sexual sin outside marriage, then the consequences of pregnancy will not happen, the baby will not be killed and when that woman chooses to marry before engaging in sexual activity, she will have a husband and any children from that union will be alive and having a father. Believers know that two parent families are vitally important to the welfare of the children.
The unsaved believe it is good to "shack up" without commitment. Believers know that shacking up is nearly a guarantee that there will be a split eventually, the children from that experience will be abandoned by one or both parents, leaving scars that cannot be removed. Anger rages in the heart of a child who has been treated so wrecklessly.
There is so much more about the faulty and selfish thinking of the unsaved, making bad good and good bad. Our culture can see the devastation of the thinking of the unsaved. Sadly we see people who claim to be believers falling in line with the world, feeling the effects on their families as they neglect the principles of God.
The only solution for those who have ignored God and His principles, is to become born again, changed in their very nature from the evil they are to the righteousness of Christ by the Holy Spirit.
Stacy Freeman
The greater portion a man has of the Spirit of Christ the more he seeks the good of all men.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)