From the Principal’s Desk
Dear Parents,
Toward the end of Jesus’ public ministry, the mother of James and John came to Jesus and made an amazing request: “Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom” (Matthew 20:21). What a petition! To sit on either side of Christ in the kingdom would indicate honor, power, and privilege. Apparently Mom thought the two sons had earned this right through their dedication to Christ and their hard work. Maybe she thought they had the personality for the position (both strength and calm) along with the spiritual consistency that made them the best candidates in the selection pool.
But then again, maybe she was just being Mom, a mom who wanted the best for her children, but who also saw her sons through rose-colored lenses. However, she was convinced enough of their supposed qualifications that she actually asked the Lord Jesus to fulfill her desire.
What happened here? As a parent, she wanted her children to have advantages, but those advantages were outside the realm of objectivity. They were what she thought her boys had earned. And from the language, the sons were in on it too. In other words, they thought they were worthy of these honored positions. How often does the subjective thinking we as parents have toward our children spread to them!
The Lord graciously answered them by pointing out that they did not really know what they were asking. With honor comes responsibility, but their own evaluation of their worthiness or greatness was presumptuous. There were some things they had done spiritually and there would be more that they would do, but the rewards rest with the objective decision of the Father, who is the righteous judge.
This passage teaches us several things, including the fact that at times we as parents can have an exaggerated view of our children both in their accomplishments and in their worthiness of recognition. We can tend to see things from one perspective—ours. In other words, we don’t see things exactly the way they are. How do we overcome these blind spots? This is where the observation of an outside source becomes invaluable. When we know that a qualified third party has our best interest in view, as well as our child’s, we can trust their objective evaluation. So first, seek and listen to the voice of authority.
Second, remember who your child is before God: a sinner. Even if a child has a lot of ability and shows it at a young age, that does not make him great. We are still all sinners, and the sin problem that we all have causes separation from God and problems with man. Their greatest need is not “self-esteem” and to be told how great they are; their greatest need is to be saved. This does not mean that we should not encourage our children or congratulate them for a job well done, but it does mean that we must keep proper focus of who they are; otherwise, we will have a wrong understanding of who they are and they will have a wrong understanding of who they are.
The temptation for us to see things differently from reality regarding our children is there, but the Word of God and the observation of godly leaders can help us form and maintain the right perspective of and for our children.
Sincerely,
Pastor Sutton
Dear Parents,
Toward the end of Jesus’ public ministry, the mother of James and John came to Jesus and made an amazing request: “Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom” (Matthew 20:21). What a petition! To sit on either side of Christ in the kingdom would indicate honor, power, and privilege. Apparently Mom thought the two sons had earned this right through their dedication to Christ and their hard work. Maybe she thought they had the personality for the position (both strength and calm) along with the spiritual consistency that made them the best candidates in the selection pool.
But then again, maybe she was just being Mom, a mom who wanted the best for her children, but who also saw her sons through rose-colored lenses. However, she was convinced enough of their supposed qualifications that she actually asked the Lord Jesus to fulfill her desire.
What happened here? As a parent, she wanted her children to have advantages, but those advantages were outside the realm of objectivity. They were what she thought her boys had earned. And from the language, the sons were in on it too. In other words, they thought they were worthy of these honored positions. How often does the subjective thinking we as parents have toward our children spread to them!
The Lord graciously answered them by pointing out that they did not really know what they were asking. With honor comes responsibility, but their own evaluation of their worthiness or greatness was presumptuous. There were some things they had done spiritually and there would be more that they would do, but the rewards rest with the objective decision of the Father, who is the righteous judge.
This passage teaches us several things, including the fact that at times we as parents can have an exaggerated view of our children both in their accomplishments and in their worthiness of recognition. We can tend to see things from one perspective—ours. In other words, we don’t see things exactly the way they are. How do we overcome these blind spots? This is where the observation of an outside source becomes invaluable. When we know that a qualified third party has our best interest in view, as well as our child’s, we can trust their objective evaluation. So first, seek and listen to the voice of authority.
Second, remember who your child is before God: a sinner. Even if a child has a lot of ability and shows it at a young age, that does not make him great. We are still all sinners, and the sin problem that we all have causes separation from God and problems with man. Their greatest need is not “self-esteem” and to be told how great they are; their greatest need is to be saved. This does not mean that we should not encourage our children or congratulate them for a job well done, but it does mean that we must keep proper focus of who they are; otherwise, we will have a wrong understanding of who they are and they will have a wrong understanding of who they are.
The temptation for us to see things differently from reality regarding our children is there, but the Word of God and the observation of godly leaders can help us form and maintain the right perspective of and for our children.
Sincerely,
Pastor Sutton