“Discipline your children while they are young enough to learn. If you don’t, you are helping them destroy themselves” (Proverbs 19:18 TEV).
Just as brick homes are built one brick at a time, the lives of our children are built with the bricks of presence, acceptance, guidance, and correction. Every time you give a child one of these gifts, you are building his or her life. The two most important corrective words you must teach your children early in life are “come” and “no.” Kids who never learn to respect and respond to authority will struggle their entire lives. Nobody gets their way all the time. If you don’t set clear limits for your children now, they’ll never understand the concept later in life, and they will have great difficulty in relationships—in their own families, with co-workers, and even with God. Will you have any influence on the next generation? When you die, your legacy should be far more than just what you did on Earth. Your legacy should include what others do after you’re gone.
Rick Warren
