Verb: To Spoil

I was thinking the other day about how we often use the term "spoiled" in referring to children. And rightly so! However "spoiled," in our dictionary, usually means something like "that is a really badly behaved child." But then I got to thinking about other ways that we use it such as "that milk has spoiled." It has gone bad. So I looked up the definition of spoiled and I found the following: "to damage severely or harm, especially with reference to its excellence, value, etc." Wow. So really when we say that a child is spoiled we're not so much saying something about them as we are about their parents. By not properly disciplining and training our children, we spoil them. We can actually damage and severely harm them- preventing them from glorious potentials. Because of the fall children are born sinners and naturally go astray from the Lord, but He has set it up such that we, as parents, though unable to convert or save our children ultimately, can lead them to Him. If we fail to do this- we will spoil our children. We will point them to damage and sourness and ruin.

O Lord, keep me from spoiling my children!