Choose Your Battles

I am always told when dealing with children, to choose your battles. Don't argue with them on everything, but don't let them get away with everything either. You are not spoiling them, you are just being smart and sticking to your principles, yet giving in to them at times. Remember they are children, and therefore they want to show that they too can make decisions, and want their way too. So once in a while you let them when the matter at hand is insignificant you let them get their way.

There are other ways on handling children. You can give them choices or word things so that the decision they make is really what you want them to do, but they think they are the decision maker. They feel happy that they have input and therefore will comply since, after all, it is their decision and not yours. And you as the adult feel good because they are really doing what you want them to do.

Now take this a step further. Our parent? Is He also choosing His battles with us? Is He too giving us choices in a way that we feel that we are really making them and in reality it is what He wants? That we are merely doing what He wants us to do, but at times we feel that we actually chose something? Are we the little child who wants his/her way and fights for it and is stubborn and will cry and scream until we get it? Does our parent above really let us get our way, or does it just feel that way?

So the next time my daughter or son wants their way, I do need to figure out how important I should stand firm in the matter, and then think how the One Above would do for me when I want something my way.