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;