Fear driven affair

I am learning that for a longtime, I have obeyed God and wanted to obey Him in order to run away from the consequences of not obeying Him.

Think about it. Instead of having a love driven affair with the Lord, I am having a fear (wrong fear) driven affair. 

This means that if I do this or that, the Lord will punish me, or I will face and have to deal with painful consequence. Instead of thinking that obedience to God is equal to blessings and having a sweet and wonderful companion hip with the Lord.

David says, “The secret of the sweet satisfying companionship of the Lord, have they who fear, worship and revere Him, He will show them His covenant and reveal to them its deeper meaning”. Psalm 25:14

Now, think about this in relation to the children you and I are raising. How many times do they obey you as a parent because they fear that if they do not, there is punishment that follows disobedience? Good in training, but I think as they mature this needs to change because while it is good to correct and to discipline and the Lord disciplines those He loves, we need to mature in faith and take our walk with God higher and to appreciate that we need to do what we do out of our love for Him and not because we fear the consequences of not doing so.

We therefore also need to discipline children while explaining to them the benefits of obedience and not just allowing them to experience the pain of disobedience. That way, they do not look at obedience as a running away from painful consequences but as a means of enjoying a fulfilling life.

My opinion is therefore that any form of correction which sometimes involves spanking the children must be followed up with comprehensive understanding and appreciation of the benefits that come with obedience.

Well, I am on my knees asking God to help me not to obey Him out of fear but to obey because I simply LOVE him and that obedience amounts to great blessings in Him and having a sweet companionship with Him. 

What this teaches me is how much our upbringing affects our relationship with God.Lets therefore train our children in a manner that as they grow they will learn to interact with God in Truth because we share and live the Truth and the Truth will set them free to Worship and LOVE Him.