Authority with our Children

In his book, "The Servant" author and lecturer Jim Hunter makes this observation, "With the proper will, we can chose to love, the verb, which is about identifying and meeting the legitimate needs, not wants, of those we lead. When we meet the needs of others we will , by definition, be called upon to serve and even sacrifice. When we serve and sacrifice for others, we build authority or influence, the "Law of the Harvest," as Theresa said. And when we build authority with people, then we have earned the right to be called leader."

Love, the verb, is all about behaving well toward others, even when we disagree with them or are irritated or frustrated with them. Love, the feeling, as we all know, comes and goes. So it can't be the kind of trustable love spoken of by the prophets. Charity never faileth. Yet, with love the verb active in our lives, we can always choose to behave well toward others, or never fail them in how we treat them.

In many cases, this is naturally a part of the home schooling environment, because of a form of natural selection. Parents who are willing to take the responsibility upon them of nurturing at home, offer a model of service and sacrifice for their children that is invaluable. Invaluable, because children learn so much more from what they see modeled than from what they are told.

A family name, at the very least, is the legacy we leave behind for future generations to view and judge. Choosing to model and impress in the lives of our children, lasting values such as true leadership, has the potential to extend into the lives of those in our current version of human kind, but also in lives beyond. It is so worth it.