How To Childproof Your Kids Against Rebellion Series

Charlie Steinmetz was a crippled dwarf, but what he lacked physically he made up mentally. When it came to the subject of electricity, Steinmetz was a wizard. No one in his day knew more about it than he.

Henry Ford realized this when he hired the man to help in the building of those massive generators and turbines that would run his first automobile plant in Dearborn, Michigan. Once everything was in place, the assembly line worked like clockwork. Thanks to the electrical genius, cars began to roll off the line and profit began to pour into Ford’s pocket. Things ran along smoothly for months.

Suddenly, without warning, everything ground to a halt. Ford Motor Company went dark. One mechanic after another was unable to locate the problem much to Ford’s frustration. Finally, he contacted the brains behind the system. Steinmetz showed up and immediately went to work. He fiddled around with some switches and a gauge or two. He tinkered with this and that one…pushed a few buttons and messed with some wires. He then threw the master switch and wouldn’t you know it? Lights blinked on, engines began to whirl, and things were back to normal.

Within a few days, Charlie Steinmetz mailed Henry Ford a bill for $10,000. Ford couldn’t believe it! He was wealthy, but paying such an exorbitant amount of money was out the question, especially for what appeared to be such a small amount of work. He sent the bill back with a note attached, “Charlie, doesn’t it seem a little steep to charge me $10,000 for tinkering around with a few wires and switches?”

Steinmetz rewrote the bill and sent it back. It read:

For tinkering around on the motors $10.00

For knowing where to tinker $9,990.00

For a little man, that was a giant concept (1).

Today, the Spirit of God wants to once again tinker around with your family. And haven’t you noticed how He has an uncanny knack for knowing where to tinker? What price can you put on your family’s growth? Is there anything, next to your walk with God, more important than your family?

Last week we saw the dark side of the family, as we looked at a dad named Eli in 1 Samuel 1-4 who was uninvolved with his sons. It cost them their lives. In today’s message, “How To Child-Proof Your Kids Against Rebellion,” we’ll look at the difficult side of the family and what happens when rebellion comes home to roost.

This past week the Lord showed me another angle to consider in this series, “Growing Strong Families.” While I was jogging early one morning, He impressed upon my spirit the need to look at these studies from the angle of: “The 10 Most Wanted Families.” In the next few weeks, we’ll look at how several biblical families dealt with their children and see what we can learn.

Jesus’ Family Teaching Your Children How They Are Wired

Solomon’s Family Winning Over Generational Sin

Eli & Sons’ Family What Happens When A Dad Is Uninvolved?

Prodigal Son’s Family How To Childproof Your Kids Against Rebellion

Israel & Sons’ Family How To Bless Your Kids

Joseph’s Family Helping Your Kids Reach Their Potential

Adam’s Family Teaching Your Children How To Approach God

David’s Family The High Cost Of Family Sin

New Testament Family Cultivating Your Child’s Self-Esteem

Job’s Family Teaching Your Family How To Cope With Pain

Abraham’s Family Family Values Start With Faith

Conclusion Parenting Would Be Easy, If It Weren’t For Teenagers!

The home is a laboratory where kids can move from dependence, to independence, and finally to interdependence. Today we are going to address a topic that begs for a word from heaven if parents are to survive. We must understand this topic if our kids are going to make it into adulthood and God is to be honored.

Rebellion in the home affects everyone at one time or another. No series on the family would be complete without some insights on this painful part of parenting. My goal is to keep you from drifting out to sea with meaningless insights that have no hope of working in the home.

Children today live in a confused generation. Many have no respect for authority because they don’t see it in the home. Others intimidate their parents with requests and demands that shouldn’t even be open for discussion. Some transfer this lack of respect and intimidation to the school, neighborhood, and even law enforcement.

A common mistake is that many parents cannot see the high cost of not confronting rebellion. But if not confronted, these rebels will stop at nothing. If parents ever needed a word from heaven, it is now. God has given us a mandate to deal with rebellion. This can be the most unpleasant thing you will ever do. It is gut wrenching, sometimes even volatile, and on occasion you may feel like you’re losing your mind. At times you will feel like the whole family is being held hostage, but you must stand firm.