Are you familiar with the phrase? What does it mean to you? Where does it comes from?
Since the 1600’s, “Do as I say” was considered a warning followed by the self-deprecating phrase, “not as I do.” It has been used by parents all over the world to instruct their children on what they wanted their children to do. It also directed children not to imitate their parent’s negative choices. For example, parents may not want their children to smoke, drink, or be physically abusive to others, etc., even though they might have done the same.
The bible warns against hypocrisy.
Matthew 23: 1-4 says “Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.”
As a parent, what does this verse mean to you? Do we unknowingly parent by the phrase, “Do As I Say, Not As I Do?”
When we see our children acting out at home and realize that they need help and support from a mental health professional because they are suffering at school and suffering socially, what do we need to ask ourselves? Where does the unwanted behavior stem from? If you are parenting by the phrase, “Do as I say, not as I do, could it be that problematic behavior is observed and actually unknowingly learned from you? As parents, we are put in the seat of authority. Are we excused from presenting the best example for our children?
