Four Points of Obedience

From the Duggars' book 20 and Counting

  ~ Instant. We tell them obedience needs to occur instantly. If it doesn't happen instantly, it's not obedience. Sometimes it's not what you want to do, but it's what you ought to do to honor Mommy and Daddy- or God.

~Cheerful. God wants us to obey Him joyfully, and parents want the same thing from their children. Even when what we're asking them to do is a little difficult or not what they want to do, we remind them to respond with the right attitude. We want them to comply without snorting and stomping off in anger and without complaining.

~Thorough. This point of obedience came up because when something was left undone, we so often heard responses such as "I didn't hear you", or " I forgot." Now when we ask the children to do something, we make sure they are looking at us in the eye when we make the request. Then we like to hear "Yes ma'am" or "Yes sir" in response.  {At out house we like "Yes Mom" or "Yes Dad"}

~Unconditional. We teach the kids to do what we ask without arguing. For example, if I ask someone to vacuum, I don't want to hear "That's not my job! That's so-and-so's job." Well, I know whose job it is. I'm the one who gave out the jobs. Instead, I want to hear "Yes ma'am" as the child heads off to retrieve the vacuum cleaner."

"To keep one's voice sweet, one's face bright, one's will steady, one's patience unperturbed, in the arena of the home, in the light of one's own family, is no light task. "