It has always been important to me that I raise my children to be independent and be able to take care of themselves.  My wife and I endeavor to encourage them to have confidence in their abilities and to do things on their own without being required to constantly rely on others.  For example, we start training them to take their own showers unassisted around the age of 3 (with our oversight, of course).  By the time they reach 4 or 5 years, both of our children have been able to do things on their own.  When it’s convenient, our son (the youngest) likes playing the baby card.  While he enjoys his growing independence he still uses the occasional situation to pretend he’s incapable of completing a task.  It’s apparent he enjoys the attention and the occasional moments of laziness.  By acting in a certain manner, he assumes he can convince others to do things for him.  With some people, that may work for him.  But Daddy isn’t buying what he’s selling, so-to-speak.  I’m not being mean, simply attempting to show him he’s capable of doing anything he puts his mind to.  After a few minutes of complaints, my response is always, “You are capable of doing it for yourself.  You’re a big boy.  Stop whining and do something for yourself.”  Eventually he sees I’m not budging from my stance so he does it on his own as I praise him for what he’s done.

Society has created this horrendous mindset in the past 10-20 years convincing men and women the world owes us something.  If something bad happens to me, surely it’s not my fault (even when I’ve made bad decisions), right?  And everyone should help me get out of the fix I’ve gotten myself into.  In 1 Corinthians we find Paul addressing the Corinthian church about the importance of love-though the ideal being presented stands true in all things and situations.  He states, “When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.”  At some point, it becomes necessary for a baby to move on from the soft, mushy foods to something with more nutrients and vitamins.  What worked for us 2 years ago may not work for us now.  Instead of complaining things aren’t like we would like for them to be, maybe it’s time to do something about it.  We’re only as limited as we allow ourselves to be.  If we’re unhappy about our relationship with God?  Let’s choose to do something about it.  Pray, fast, and read our Bible more.  Are we frustrated things aren’t going well at work?  Let’s choose to become a part of the solution rather than the problem.  Whining accomplishes nothing.  It’s probably time we put away childish things and be the solution.

Closing remarks and encouragement:  At some point, we must take responsibility for our actions.  Pity parties and temper tantrums are only mildly cute when we’re children.  We must make the decision to do better; to be better.  As Christians, the world is watching us.  Let’s give them something to talk about 😊

Have a blessed week, my friends!