
Every good parent knows that disciplining a child is a very important part of parenting. However, people often have a negative view of discipline because they associate it with punishment and physical abuse. Most parents will tell you that the reality of disciplining a child is much different. On the one hand, it is true that discipline often incorporates punishment to correct disobedient behavior. However, the primary purpose of discipline is to instruct or train your child about appropriate behavior in the home and in society, to properly respond to positive and negative circumstances, to develop coping skills, to understand the difference between right and wrong behavior, and to be able to persevere as they endure life’s struggles. The overwhelming majority of these things are not beaten into a child. On the contrary, discipline is basically teaching, and a parent’s primary responsibility is to teach his or her child what is necessary to live a long, healthy, and peaceful life.
Accordingly, a child’s home training should touch upon every aspect of life as the child matures, including eating and drinking for the glory of God. However, this discipline seems to have been lost quite some time ago. Most churches no longer teach the Biblical principles regarding the body, dieting, or maintaining a healthy lifestyle for the glory of the Lord. Furthermore, parents no longer teach their children about the sin of gluttony. Likewise, even secular instructions about eating fruits and vegetables and preparing healthy, home cooked meals are no longer adhered to. Instead, people eat out very often, cooking is becoming an archaic art form, and children who demand fast food are given it. And they are suffering because of it.
Children are diagnosed every day with hypertension, anorexia nervosa, Type II diabetes, bulimia nervosa, and even fatty liver disease. Consequently, they are dying from obesity related diseases and complications from eating disorders earlier in life at alarming rates. As a result, this generation is on track to have a shorter lifespan than the ones before it because the parents, their children, and their families are being destroyed from a lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6) and discipline. It is time to get back to parenting basics and that includes teaching your children to eat fruits and veggies, even when they would rather be eating burgers and fries. Unfortunately, the children are not the only ones who lack the discipline to adopt a healthy lifestyle. Just as judgment starts at the house of God, so should it start with the head of the household. If you, the parent, first submit to God’s will to eat and drink for His glory as His obedient child, then He will bless your efforts to train your child in the ways of taking care of the body, which is the temple of the Holy Spirit.
If you are ready to reclaim the biblical knowledge and disciplines of healthy eating and drinking habits for yourself and your family, purchase your copies of the Eating as an Act of Worship Workbook and the Eating as an Act of Worship Teacher’s Edition online today at Amazon or Barnes and Noble.com. In the books, you will learn the biblical principles regarding the body, dieting, exercising, and maintaining a healthy body for the glory of God. Read our weekly blog for motivation to stay healthy and fit through Christ. Follow us daily on Facebook, Threads, and Pinterest for recipes, and diet and exercise tips. Tune in to our syndicated radio show on iTunes, Spotify, the Narrative Matters, StudioW Buzz Radio Station, and Victory KVDW 100.9 FM, 95.3 FM, and 1530 AM in Little Rock, Arkansas for interviews and health and fitness trends. Lastly, make your tax-deductible donation to Eating as an Act of Worship Ministries at www.eatingasanactofworshipministries.org!