Monday, June 1, 2009

Proper Incentives

The Father's eternal plan is based on an incentive - the opportunity to become like our Heavenly Parents. Of course, we hope we are pursuing that objective because of our love for Him, but the foundation is an incentive, nonetheless.

Just something to consider when raising children.

5 comments:

Patty said...

Hee hee... I'm not sure telling Aimee that someday she'll be like me would be much of an incentive in her mind!!

Papa D said...

Yeah, Patty, there is that.

Jen said...

Just as we have to be able to feel our Father in Heaven loves us in order to want to truly be like Him, our children also have to feel loved by us in order to want to emulate us.

I think it is critical to find out what makes our children feel loved by us and make sure we are taking the time to speak that language to them. Just as the Lord blesses us with tender mercies which make us feel uniquely loved by Him, we must find ways to shower tender mercies on our children that they might know of our awareness and deep love for them.

Ryan said...

++ Jen

I'm constantly amazed at how different my little ones are from each other... their idea of fun can vary hugely, the kind of praise or special treatment that makes their day is unique, and it would be a disaster to discipline them all the same way (quite often even "the look" is too strong for one of them, which is all too easy to forget).

Papa D said...

Amen, Jen and Ryan. We have six, and not only do they each react differently to different actions from us, but they each have changed slightly (at least) in how they respond over time. For example, what worked for our oldest when he was young doesn't work necessarily for him now that he is almost 21.

There's a Gospel lesson in there about how God interacts with us in the moment AND over time, I believe.