First, the Bible: “Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, “Do you see how Ahab has humbled himself before Me? Because he has humbled himself before Me, I will not bring the evil in his days, but I will bring the evil upon his house in his son’s days.” (1 Kings 21:28–29).
It was instructive to me, years ago, when I was studying the life of King Ahab. I counted eight times that God sent a prophet (either Elijah or perhaps another) to King Ahab. He was very wicked (1 Kings 16:30-33). But after the incident with Naboth and Jezebel and the vineyard, God sent Elijah yet again (21:17-25). But this time, King Ahab tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, fasted, and was “despondent” (21:27; NASV). It was at that point that God acknowledged King Ahab’s humility and because of that brief, if shallow, act of humility, God chose not to “bring evil in his days,” but on the house in his son’s days.
Do we encourage our children whenever we can? Even in the face of repeated frustrations? Do we look for the opportunity to give our son or daughter a good word, ever so slight as it might be? If we always expect complete perfection – especially with small children – it can become discouraging.
But if we encourage where we can, our words and behavior can have a positive impact on our children’s hearts and their effort to please Mom and Dad even more and better in the future. When you encourage your child, go beyond material rewards like sweets or stickers. Help them find encouragement in the fact that they are becoming better people, are pleasing God more, are honoring their parents more, and so forth.
“He’s still working on me, to make me what I ought to be. It took Him just a week to make the moon and the stars, the sun and the earth, and Jupiter and Mars. How loving and patient He must be, because He’s still working on me.”
Did you sing that song as a child? Are you teaching the song to your children? It takes time to grow and mature. And children need all the encouragement in the right direction they can get. Surely you don’t have an Ahab in your family. But if you did, remember that God even encouraged Ahab when He saw something worthy of praise!
Paul Holland