Many teens feel their parents are too strict. They may loudly accuse Mom and Dad of hating them.
Kids, to help you out with this, I offer some proofs that your parents really do hate you!
They let you go cold and hungry. Most loving moms and dads brought you into the world at considerable expense, sacrifice, and pain. They provided care and shelter, pushed your stroller, coached you, drove you around. They broke the bank to pay for a home, emergency room visits, school lunches, uniforms, toys and activities, all without question.
If Mom and Dad refuse to provide food and covering, you have the evidence you need—they want you to suffer. But we must admit that’s rare. Matthew 7:9 says, “what man is there among you, when his son shall ask him for a loaf, will give him a stone?”
What’s that you say? They deprived you of a smartphone or Nintendo? Well, that sounds like suffering for sure. But, there might be other reasons why parents would withhold technology that everyone else has. As much as we’d like to, we cannot include that as proof of hatred. But don’t give up hope, there are still more tests we can run!
They left it up to you to discover God on your own. Some parents believe kids should have the freedom to decide for themselves whether God is an important part of life. Trouble is, most children do not yet possess the tools or abilities to make those decisions.
Thus, parents steer their children toward the God they know to be true. God says, “teach [these words] diligently to your sons … when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up” (Deut. 6:6-7). The time to do this is when young minds are forming a worldview (Prov. 22:6).
Wise parents know that although they force their kids to attend church, Satan still will provide many opportunities for them to question the truth and choose other paths. Don’t offer equal time to Satan; he will claim it himself!
Have your parents abandoned you to make your own search for God without their guidance? Have they stopped dragging you to church? Then perhaps they don’t care where you end up. But if they keep teaching you, they still love you.
They let you do whatever you please, no questions asked. That’s what David did with his son Adonijah. “His father never crossed him at any time by asking, ‘Why have you done so?’” (1 Kings 1:6). Adonijah repaid his daddy by trying to steal the kingdom. His brother Solomon had to put him to death.
If mom and dad are all the time saying, “we just want Junior to do what makes him happy” then they might be plotting your downfall. But if they ask you to consider your actions, and if they lecture you about the folly of your decisions, they still love you.
They handed you everything on a silver platter. If they do that, you might be onto something. They know that’s not the way the world works. They can’t wait to see you crash and burn in five to ten years, when you discover the professor gives out grades based on performance, the boss fires people who do not show up on time, and credit card companies demand repayment.
But, if they pile on the chores, say “No” in the store (Heb. 12:3-12), or make you pay for your own night at the movies—sorry, we’ll have to keep looking for evidence of their hatred.
They always took your side. Proverbs 13:24 says, “He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him diligently.” Proverbs 19:18 says, “Discipline your son while there is hope, and do not desire his death.”
If you’ve never gotten a spanking, mom and dad must want to see you become a wicked person and be eternally condemned, and that’s about the worst thing a parent could wish for. As you grow up, if you’re not called onto the carpet for bad behavior, they might be plotting your doom.
When we look back over this list, I guess we can all be thankful that we have parents who love us so much!