During last evening's rush hour, I was driving north through the city. Sitting at a traffic light, I happened to glance in my rear view mirror. In the car directly behind me was a man (he looked a little younger than me) and a teen aged boy. The man was talking. "Hmm. How nice." I remember thinking. "A dad and his son having a talk." Across the course of the next several minutes, I stole an occasional glance at the two as they drove in the lane behind me. The man continued to talk and at times got quite animated as he took his hands off the wheel and gestured wildly. At the same time, the boy just stared dispassionately into space, NEVER saying a word. At that point my warm fuzzy feeling departed. This was NOT the case of a dad and his son kibitzing (a new word I just learned from WDAC - it means to chat or banter). Rather it was a case of a dad lecturing his son. Now being a dad, I realize there are times in the parenting process that a lecture might be in order. However, I also realize that more times than not, us parents go into the "lecture mode" when we should be in the "listening mode." And when we do this, we run the risk of embittering our kids - which is something God's Word cautions us against (see Colossians 3:21).
Let me encourage you, if you are a parent, be sure to take time to LISTEN to your children. In listening to them, you show them that you care about what they think. And sometimes that is all they are looking for - a little respect!
Thanks for listening,
pj
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