Obedience is not the Goal

This may be a surprising title to some, but when it comes to Biblical parenting our goal is not to just create an obedient child.  In the church world we often hear things like "obey the first time and have a good attitude about it".  While I agree with this and have said this to my children, we also need to understand that that is not the end goal.  Just because your child obeys you does not mean our job is over.  An obedient child is a good thing but many times a do what I say and just obey mentality actually creates a rebellious and dishonest child in the end.  You see our goal is to get to the heart of our child and lead them to the only one that can change their heart, Jesus! We want them to have a relationship with our Lord and we do this through a deep relationship with God and with them, not by running a military operation.  Let's look at the balance of obedience and see how the Bible instructs us to raise our children up!