Luke 1:59-60
And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father. And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called John.
I am always amazed by the brazenness of these people to try and name the child of Zacharias and Elizabeth. These people were not joking with these parents about naming this child after his father, but they thought they had the right to tell these new parents what they needed to do. Elizabeth did the right thing to squash the meddling of these people in her family immediately, for had she not, these people would have meddled in the rearing of her child for years to come.
As brazen as these people were with Elizabeth, I often see well-intentioned people who think they have a right to tell parents what they need to do with their children. One of the principles I have followed as a pastor is not to reach into the home of my people and tell them what they need to do to train their children. Don't get me wrong, I preach from the pulpit how to train a child, and I will be straight when I preach, but I do not reach into the home and tell the parents how to discipline or do something with their child without them asking me for help. Many relationships have been hurt because of well-intentioned people who won't stay out of another couple’s training of their child. Let me share a few principles about this critical truth.
First, God gave the child to the right parents. God made no mistake in which family He allowed a child to be born into. If God thought you could do a better job with that child, He would have allowed that child to be born into your family. The fact that God gave a child to a certain family should show you that you need to stay out of their business.
Second, God gives the parents whom the child was born the advice on how to train the child and not anyone else. God is a God who follows a chain of authority. God gives the authority to train a child to his parents. Therefore, He speaks to the parents on how to train that child and not others. God’s pattern throughout the Scriptures has always been to speak directly to a child’s parents on how to train them. For instance, God spoke to Samson’s parents and told them how to train him. God also spoke to John’s parents on how to train him; therefore, these people trying to name this child were out of line. Just like God speaks to the Pastor about the direction a church should go, He speaks to the parents of a child on how to train them.
Third, for you to meddle in another parent’s training of their child is to tell God He failed. For instance, I believe government officials need to keep their hands out of the home and training of a child. It is not the Board of Education’s business to tell a parent how to train a child. God did not give a DHS the right to tell a parent how to discipline a child. It is not a doctor’s duty to determine if a child is being trained properly; it is a doctor’s duty to diagnose a health issue and nothing more. To meddle in a parent’s home is an anti-God mentality. Any government official who steps between the parent and their child feels that they are god and know better than God. Likewise, the person who feels they need to meddle in another parent’s training of a child is no better than government officials who try to meddle in a child’s rearing. The best thing you can do to help a child to be trained right is to stay out of the parent’s training of their child and point that child to their parents.
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