by Dr. Paul Chappell

"And the one woman said, O my lord, I and this woman dwell in one house; and I was delivered of a child with her in the house. And it came to pass the third day after that I was delivered, that this woman was delivered also: and we were together; there was no stranger with us in the house, save we two in the house. And this woman's child died in the night; because she overlaid it. And she arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while thine handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom. And when I rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it was dead: but when I had considered it in the morning, behold, it was not my son, which I did bear. And the other woman said, Nay; but the living is my son, and the dead is thy son. And this said, No; but the dead is thy son, and the living is my son. Thus they spake before the king. Then said the king, The one saith, This is my son that liveth, and thy son is the dead: and the other saith, Nay; but thy son is the dead, and my son is the living. And the king said, Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before the king. And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other. Then spake the woman whose the living child was unto the king, for her bowels yearned upon her son, and she said, O my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it. But the other said, Let it be neither mine nor thine, but divide it. Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof."

1 Kings 3:17-27

More important than a monthly paycheck is nurturing your children.

Former Surgeon General Jocelyn Elders once commented on the sad state of parenting in our culture when she stated, "It is easier for many children to find drugs than it is for them to find hugs." Sadly, this kind of selfish parenting was seen even in Solomon's day. As seen in 1 Kings 3, he was faced with a difficult situation. Two women had given birth to sons on the same day, but during the night one child had died. Rather than mourn the loss of her child, the mother of the dead child stole the other son. Seeking justice, both mothers approached Solomon for help.

In his God-given wisdom, Solomon ordered the living child to be cut in half and given to each. The mother of the dead child said nothing in protest, but the child's true mother could not stand the thought of her son being killed, so she offered to give him to the other woman. Solomon then granted the true mother her rightful son.

What mother would allow a child to be harmed simply for her own selfish gains? Yet sometimes we can act just as self-centered as parents. When you come home from a long day at work and are tired, do you want to spend time with your children? Most parents don't, and many parents won't. Yet more important than a monthly paycheck is nurturing your children.

Our society has raised two types of lazy parents:

Passive. These parents feel apathetic toward parenting, and sometimes see children as an inconvenience. They don't take time to teach their children godly principles and morals. They'd rather spend time and energy meeting their own needs. Their children often act out in public as a means to gain the attention they so badly need.

Permissive. Permissive parents spend time with their children, but often feel that discipline or punishment will hurt their relationship with their child. Either from lack of willingness to take time to discipline or pure permissiveness, these parents always seem to make excuses for their children's bad behavior, teaching them that no matter what they do mom and dad will get them out of the consequences.

Our world looks at parenting as a burden. But God tells us that children come from Him. Children are a blessing! Rather than focusing on your needs as an individual, put your child's needs first and determine to follow God's pattern of parenting no matter how much extra work it takes.

To learn more about the ministries of Lancaster Baptist Church and Pastor Chappell, please visit lancasterbaptist.org, paulchappell.com, or follow him on twitter.

Daily Bible Reading
Psalms 72-73 | Romans 9:1-15