At HOBY this past weekend, one of the speakers, Mr. Jarvis Johnson (I’ll get back with more details later on who he was and what he does), stated he had a "drug problem" when he was a youngster. His mom drug him to church, to school, to the doctor, etc. This brought on loads of laughter (and a few guffaws).
I wish every young person had this problem! What a different world we’d live in. His parents taught him about consequences and about taking responsibility, two things that are sorely lacking in the rearing of most children today. Instead, we hear about spanking as physical abuse, scolding as psychological abuse, and other punishments such as grounding as cruel and unusual.
These tried and true methods have been replaced by such wonderfully politiically correct methods as "Give ‘em anything and everything they want", "Laugh at the insults hurled at you", and "Jump to their rescue when someone accuses your child of misbehaving because he/she could never have done that!"
Rubbish. That’s what I say, in true Brittish fashion. Except I’m not Brittish. I’m a Texan. What? You think that explains it? Well, I’m actually a believer in Christ, and through the first-hand experience of the trials the Lord has poured into my life, I can tell you that trouble leads to growth, not being mercifully delivered from every unfortunate circumstance. Consequences bread responsibility.
But I’m probably just preaching to the choir. (Though sometimes, I do wonder if the choir actually agrees or if they just like to sing….) 
One Comment
My youth minister used to use the “drug problem” phrase with us all the time! You are definitely correct that being “drug” to church and forced to learn upright and moral behavior is better than the alternative. You may have a period of rebellion from a child who has not had a choice about their church-going, but the Word says, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”
If you haven’t ever been led, it’s a lot harder to find the straight and narrow on your own. As Matt Chandler has said, if you are saying, “I don’t want to tell my child what to believe,” you need to know that you are the ONLY one who doesn’t want to tell your child what to believe! Everyone else is GOING TO tell them what to believe, and it most likely would not be what you would choose for them to be told.
I think parents have become really lazy. In fact, our society in general has become lazy. And it transfers into every aspect of life. Disciplining your child and teaching them what kind of person they should be is not an area where you can afford to be lazy. You only get one chance to raise them.