The Shortest Sentence

I literally heard myself having this conversation earlier tonight with our little girl. It was like some strange third person experience, but I knew I would need to share. It went like this:

Isabella: Daddy, can I have that?
Me: No, baby.
Isabella: But I want it!
Me: I know, baby, but sometimes we want things we can't have. That's why we have parents - so we know what those things are.

Even as I said those words to her, I thought, "There's a lesson in this." I guess I'll always be a teacher to some extent or another.

After further reflection, this is what occurs to me: While it's not the entirety of parenting, sometimes "No" is the best thing we can tell our kids because it's a lesson in so many things. To name a few:

Patience - sometimes you have to wait for things or people. We have to wait all the time on God's timing, too.

Selflessness - sometimes they need a solid reminder that the world doesn't revolve around them. (In fact, it doesn't revolve around us either. It's a good lesson for us all.)

Trust - in you as a parent to know what's best for them. Ultimately, they need to see us trusting God daily for our needs, as well, and that will in turn bolster their confidence in you as a parent.

As I said, that's just a sample. There are many more lessons out there that "No," the shortest, yet sometimes most effective, sentence can teach.

And so I urge you. Please. Be actively involved in parenting your children. Being a parent is more than just blood or birth certificates. You have more than just a duty or responsibility to keep them alive for 18 years. You have a God-given mandate to shepherd their hearts, to teach them the right that will wage war against the wrong already deeply implanted into their hearts by sin, and to point them to the only eternal satisfaction that can be found - that which is found in Jesus Christ.