Promises and Rewards
Dear Friends,
The other night we finished dinner and everyone went off to do their homework or whatever needed to be done. It is actually pretty rare these days that we are all in the house an entire evening at the same time. This particular night we were, so we told our children that if they finished their homework in time we could all watch something together on TV. When that time came around sure enough everyone was there and we watched one of our favorite shows together. What we forgot was that there was still some work to do in the kitchen.
The kitchen hadn’t been cleaned before we watched the show. Had it been, I am sure that everyone would have worked together…there would have been no complaining…only motivation. The promise of something fun following the work is so much better than the work after the reward.
Maybe it works differently for your family but for us it is better to get the work done first and then to enjoy the reward for the work afterwards. Of course this can be applied to many areas of life. It is even an important part of our faith. There are many places where faithful living is rewarded in scripture. One thing that is always there, however, is God’s grace and love. That is always a given. It should always be a given in our homes.
So - I invite you to think about how you implement promises and rewards with your own family. Be consistent, be fair, have integrity, work together, and enjoy the rewards together. And no matter what – make sure that love is always there – not as a reward – just as a given foundation. This helps create and maintain a healthy family. Enjoy!
To God be the Glory!
Robert
