For a little background, I have a 5-year old daughter that is very perceptive. She's also very verbal and is not afraid of saying what is on her mind.
We read a chapter from the Bible to our children (ages 5 and 11), each night at the dinner table. We just finished up reading the book of Ephesians, from the New Living Translation. This translation has proved wonderful for reading to children. Any time in the past that we tried to read from any of the epistles, we had to stop, it was so far above their heads. We switched over to the New Living Translation recently. We have read through all of Acts and Ephesians thus far.
So then, we read the last chapter of Ephesians, which is the 6th one, the night before last. If you will recall, Ephesians 6 has some specific instruction for children and parents.
We were eating chicken noodle soup for dinner last night. Sometimes I make it with egg noodles from the store (we'll call those curly noodles), and sometimes I make homemade. My daughter noticed the homemade noodles in her bowl and said, "Mom, why didn't you use the curly noodles? I like the curly noodles better!" I say, "Well, tonight we're having homemade noodles." Daughter's response--"But the Bible says that parents are supposed to make their children happy!"
What?!?
I burst out laughing! This is apparently what my daughter got out of Ephesians 6:4.
Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat
them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from
the Lord.
We had to explain the difference between provoking someone to wrath (the word used in the KJV) and keeping someone happy at all costs. There were examples given, such as Veruca Salt.
So, let that be a warning to you, that if you read the Bible to your children, they may turn it back around on you. Hopefully, there will be many laughs involved, as in our case.
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