Shepherding a Child's Heart

Pattern for Appeal
Here are some important guidelines to follow in making a biblical
appeal.
1) You begin to obey immediately, not after appeal.
2) You must be prepared to obey either way.
3) You must appeal in a respectful manner.
4) You must accept the result of the appeal with a gracious
spirit.
Illustration of Appeal
Mother says, “It is time to go to bed.” The child begins to head for
bed, and while en route may ask, “Is it okay if I finish coloring this
picture first?” Mother may say, “Yes, that would be okay,” or she
may say “No, dear, you were up late last night. You need your sleep.”
Whichever the answer, the child must be prepared to obey without
challenge, without excuse, without delay.
It should be our habit to say “Yes” to a request unless there are
good reasons to say “No”. It is easy to say “No” because we do not

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want to think through the implications of saying “Yes.”
The benefits of this appeal procedure are obvious. The child has
some recourse. He learns to submit to authority in a context that is not
arbitrary. He learns to approach his superiors in a respectful manner.
The parent can change his mind in the context of respectful appeal,
but not in the presence of blatant rebellion.
The Importance of Example
It is so difficult to teach submission to authority in a culture in
which we have few models to follow. At one time, adults provided
examples of submission to authority. Mom submitted to Dad as the
head of the house. Dad submitted to his boss. There was a general
concept of one’s station in life and behaving in the manner
appropriate to it.
Various liberation movements in the second half of the 20th
century have changed all that. Since our culture’s interest in the
equality and dignity of individuals is not rooted in Scripture, we have
lost the idea of respect for a person because of his or her office or
place of authority. Therefore, our children are growing up in a culture
with no ready models of submission to authority.
You must provide examples of submission for your children. Dads
can model this by exercising gracious, biblical authority over family
life, and Moms through biblical submission to their husbands. It can
be done through biblical submission to employers. It can be shown
through your relationship to the state and the church. Ensure that your
interaction with various authorities are examples of submission.
The way you respond to disappointment with your authorities in
the society, at the job, and in the church, teaches your children how to
be under authority. The attitudes you display teach either biblical
submission or unbiblical independence and rebellion.