Teaching Responsibility through Parenting

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“To prune or not to prune?” Dennis Miller tells the story: “Out of parental concern and a desire to teach our young son responsibility, we require him to phone home when he arrives at his friend’s house, a few blocks away. He began to forget, however, as he grew more confident in his ability to get there without disaster befalling him. The first time he forgot, I called to be sure he had arrived. We told him the next time it happened, he would have to come home. A few days later, however, the telephone again lay silent, and I knew if he were ever going to learn he would have to be punished. But I did not want to punish him. I went to the telephone regretting that his great time would be spoiled by his lack of contact with his father. …show more content…

What does a gardener do, but prune the dead leaves? It is a job that has to be done; if the plant is not taken care of, what happens is that it dies. God has control over the entire vine. I want you to see that the vine is the real important part. The branches cannot live without the vine. The vine is where the branches get their nutrients. We need to realize that Jesus must be a part of our lives. We just exist in this world. If we don not have Jesus in our life, what will we be remembered for when we die? Jesus is the source of our life, our existence. We need to realize the importance of His presence in our lives. After realizing His presence, we need to respond to His purpose for …show more content…

Every morning at 8:30 the President would have a staff meeting. One day the mail clerk brought in a lavender envelope with a regal wax seal and flowing purple ribbons. Opening it, the President found a letter from the king of Saudi Arabia, whose salutation began, “Your Magnificence.” “Your Magnificence,” Truman repeated laughing. “I like that. I don’t know what you guys call me when I’m not here, but it’s okay if you prefer to me from now on as “His Magnificence.”
Later Truman sent a letter to the United Nations supporting the admission of 100,000 Jews into Palestine. Soon afterward the President received a second letter from the King of Saudi Arabia. This one began: Dear Mr. President.”
The third thing we need to do is respect His pruning. Do we maintain respect from God even when we disagree with Him? In the story I just told you the King of Saudi Arabia respected the President just fine until the President made a decision the King didn’t like. Verse 2 clearly tells us that the gardener will cut off the branch that does not bear fruit, while the branches that do bear fruit, he prunes so they can become more fruitful. The word “prune” means to cleanse. There is nothing wrong with pruning, or cleansing. It is important for us to see ourselves as Christians.
We are not perfect; there are perhaps some things we need to work

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