55 YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR CHILD IS
OFTEN MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOUR BEING RIGHT.

Do you have to always be right, even if means sacrificing your relationship with a child?

Winning arguments with your child is not the way to resolve conflict. Discipline teaches what’s right. That’s different than having to “be right.”

I may believe what’s right, but how I communicate and act toward a child can be completely wrong. The old adage has some validity here: It’s not what you say, but how you say it.

Children are not the enemy. You are not in a war against a child. We do not battle against flesh and blood. We war against the true enemy of our souls—Satan.

You can be right, win the argument, and defeat the child. But what have you accomplished? The child is now wounded, crushed, hurt, and angry. This leads to offense and bitterness, feelings of rejection and a breaking of relationship.

Yes, parents must speak the truth in love. In order to be right, I don’t have to prove my child wrong and win the argument. I do have to teach truth, love unconditionally, and often wait for a child to understand what’s right. Instant victories can lead to long-term hurt and brokenness.

The next time you feel the urge to steamroll over your child’s feelings, step back. Be quick to listen, slow to speak, and especially slow to anger. Also remember that the next statement you make to a child will either speak life or death. There’s something more important than being right. It’s being in a loving, forgiving, and lasting relationship with your child.

Speaking the truth in love (Eph. 4:15).