False Guilt
Read the Prodigal Son’s story in Luke 15.
The parents of prodigals often ask the same question: “What did I do as a parent that would have caused this behavior in my child?” Many times this comes out of a sense of false guilt.
I am reminded of the story of the prodigal in Luke. I don’t read in this story that the prodigal’s father blamed himself for his son’s actions. The father gave the son his inheritance and let him go. He was always looking for his son’s return, but I don’t remember there ever being a hint of self-blame or guilt.
We are all free moral agents who make our own choices. Good and sometimes bad behavior comes out of those choices. Our guilt comes from the accuser and he would like nothing better than to keep us ineffective in our self-pity and doubt. If you find yourself consumed with false guilt over your prodigal’s choices, shake it off and put on the full armor of God. The armor will deflect those arrows of guilt, condemnation, and shame.
Dr. James Dobson says “We can’t blame ourselves in most cases for the wrong choices our children make any more than we can be prideful that our children have made all the right choices.”
I don’t know about you, but as bad as the journey has been, I am so grateful God loved me enough to teach me some very valuable lessons through
No comments:
Post a Comment