Continued from yesterday.

Genesis 3:14 And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

Here is a part often overlooked by parents. God dealt with their excuses for the sin committed. If we do not deal with the excuses before settling on the correction those excuses will remain within the emotions and any punishment will rest upon the excuse and not be taken to heart. Remember the heart condition and the relationship must be the goal of correction. If the excuse is not removed, there is the risk of resentment for the correction and it will not be received as a loving act.

At the core of excuses is the irrational justification of action. They will not be seen as irrational unless addressed. Speaking truth in love is essential here because over reacting in the moment and disproportional hyperbole build defensive fences and the goal is to keep those defensive walls down. We cannot have these discussion while angry. Punishment should never be performed in anger. They are children, we need to be the adults in this situation.

I cannot address every irrational justification for the mistakes our children make. It takes a parent who knows their child to understand when the root cause is determined and then how best to cut it. We should never make lite of it and address the cause separate from the child. It must be seen as a separate action aside from correction and not part of the punishment. This is essential in maintaining the relationship between parent and child.

Now for the consequences.

Genesis 3:17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

Jeremiah 23:24 Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord.

When I was a child I would hide what I was doing from my parents. I instinctively knew it was wrong, but I would do it anyway. That was long before I read about Adam and Eve hiding from God. I knew what shame was, I knew I was a disappointment.

How do we offer correction to our children without instilling the emotions of disappointment or cementing those fears in their hearts? If I look to my parents for an example of how to accomplish this, I would fail. That is my past and the cycle of inappropriate correction has to be broken. That is why I have to look at God’s reaction and try to duplicate His approach to reproach.

Genesis 3:9-10 And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.

The first thing God accomplished was to communicate concern about His relationship with His creation. So often we move right on into the punishment and neglect to check the emotions of the offender. Adam was afraid, exposed and ashamed. There is confession of condition within Adam’s words brought about by tending to the needs of the relationship first by God. If we are to correct the condition of the heart in our wayward children, then we must first understand the condition of the offender’s heart.

Genesis 3:14 And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

Here is a part often overlooked by parents. God dealt with their excuses for the sin committed.