Willfulness…is not “sin”.
Willfulness means we “have a WILL”…
Willfulness is one of the things that separates us from the animals and makes us like God. It’s one of the ways we’re created in His image. He has a will. We have a will.
Willfulness is only “bad” when our will opposes or disregards God…when our will is anti-Christ…
When our children begin to display willfulness…and actually begin to argue with us…when they “persist in trying to climb those stairs after we say, no!”…is not sin! It’s our children discovering and learning that they have a will…and it’s our job to not destroy that! But, to guide that will into reason, and into being a “good” will which will love God…
One of the saddest things in the world are the eyes of a child who has had their will “beaten” into submission by parents who believe that is “God’s way”…vacant lifeless eyes which live on faces that rarely smile or laugh… :( God gave us a will…He doesn’t want it beaten into submission…He wants our will to willingly submit to His will…
A good book on religious maltreatment that focuses on breaking children's wills...
