When my boys were young, disciplining them was easy. Hmm…maybe I should rephrase that. It was easier than it is now. 

I remember when my oldest was about 5 years old. He and his little brother had done something mischievous. I don’t remember the details of their mischief, but I do remember the conversation that followed. 

I told them that I needed some time to think of a proper punishment. Then, as we got into the car, headed for Walmart, my 5 year old said something I’ll never forget. 

“Mama, I want you to punish us. I don’t want what happened to Eli and his boys to happen to us.” 

Out of the mouths of babes!! I was blown away. 

We had been reading the story of Samuel from one of their children’s Bibles, and my older son was clearly taking it all in. 

You’re probably familiar with the story…

Hannah longed and prayed for a child. After years, God gave her a son, and she named him Samuel. Once “he was weaned,” she gave him back to the Lord.  She brought Samuel to Eli, the priest, to be raised in the temple. 

One night, as little Samuel was lying down, he heard someone call his name. Samuel assumed it was Eli, but Eli assured Samuel, it wasn’t him. This happened three times. Finally, “Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy.” So Eli instructed Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if He calls you, say, ‘Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.’” (1 Samuel 3:9)

And the Lord spoke to Samuel. 

In most children’s Bibles, this is usually where the story ends, but THIS is actually where the story starts to get juicy. 

What exactly did God say to young Samuel? 

In 1 Samuel 3, God gave Samuel a stern message regarding his caretaker and priest, Eli. 

“I will carry out against Eli everything I spoke against his family…for I told him I would judge his family forever because of the sin he knew about; his sons made themselves contemptible, and he failed to restrain them.” 

Eli’s sons, Hophni & Phinehas were a mess. They demanded and ate the fat from the temple sacrifices and “they slept with the women who served at the Tent of the meeting.” 

As a father, Eli questioned their disobedience, but “Eli failed to restrain them.” Therefore, God was not pleased and declared that judgement against Eli and his boys was coming. 

Ouch! 

Friends, parenting is loads of fun, EXCEPT when it’s not. 

My cute 5 & 3 year old boys are now 19 & 17 year old young men. A lot has changed over the years. They are still awesome kids (just like yours are, I’m sure) but gone are the days when my son ASKS me to discipline him. 

Spankings and timeouts have now been replaced with lots of prayer followed by hard conversations.  

It’s tempting to take the passive road to parenting, but I can’t. 

We can’t. 

God is a God of mercy, but as with Eli, God expects us as parents to step up, engage, and if need be, have tough but loving conversations with our children. 

In the words of my wise little boy, “I don’t want what happened to Eli and his boys to happen to us.”

~Binu