Crying: Why crying is not bad behavior

Many parents have to deal with it. Their child is crying. Most parents see a child crying as undermining their "authority". Most parents punish crying in a child past a certain age. However, the fact of the matter is that crying was seen as normal childhood behavior in biblical times.

Reassuring crying is part of the Christian doctrine of mutual submission. See Colossians 3:20-21 KJV:

Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord. Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.

The Greek root word translated "obey" is υπακουο (Latin: hupakouo) and refers to secure, vulnerable rest in the love and submission of parents. This word ultimately refers to a secure attachment between parent and child in the family home. This secure attachment comes from parent submission, where parents are to submit to children as they would to God, from beneath yet from above, expecting absolutely nothing in return. See also Matt. 22:35-40.

The Greek root word translated "provoke...to anger" is ερεθιζο (Latin: erethizo) and refers to damages or offenses, namely the slightest of personal offense perceived by a child, including, but not limited to, the slightest of offensive touch or speech perceived by a child, stemming from entitlement. This commandment was intended by the Apostle Paul, and was understood in its original context, as a moral statute prohibiting all forms of punitive parenting, including, but not limited to, any punishments, reprimands, or other controlling demeanor towards children. In the Old Testament, punitive parents were put to death by way of bloodletting, after punishing their children one last time. Parents who punished their children were charged with kidnapping, with "kidnapping" being defined under the Law as the slightest of damages or offenses stemming from hostage-taking - child punishment was seen as holding your child hostage merely for things that they did wrong, thereby treating their child as a quartered slave. Paul, contrary to popular legend, was anti-spanking, and opposed any and all punishment of a child in his secular writings. Paul may not have gotten along with the women of the church, but he sure loved children, and even took in a few orphaned children during his time as deacon. Indeed, Greco-Roman parents got out the scourge of cords in order to punish their children, but NOT the Christians among them - the Early Christians were persecuted largely for being "too soft" on their children.

For the first 6 years of a child's life, children were in constant closeness to mothers, meaning that wherever mothers went, so did the child. Whenever children cried, mothers cooed at their children before picking them up. From there, mothers diagnosed the need of the child. Sometimes the child was tired. Sometimes the child was hungry. Sometimes the child simply needed attachment with mom.

There are five main categories of needs in a child; food, water, shelter, transportation, and attachment - and the greatest of these needs is attachment! When children cry for seemingly no reason, they want YOU and YOU only. A child most definitely is petitioning for a need when they cry, and it is the responsibility of the mother to respond accordingly. It is a myth that children cry in order to manipulate. They simply need something, and are petitioning for such needs. 

Crying is not a form of defiance. Most parents feel undermined when their children cry after a certain age. There is no need to react this way towards a child crying. Instead of reacting to the crying, it is good for mothers to respond to the every cry of a child.

The depraved and entitled parents who provoke their children to anger through punitive parenting will not inherit the Kingdom of God! Let them be cast forever into the lake of fire and burning sulfur, which is the second death prepared for Satan and his accomplices! Let them descend into the abyss which is the ever-burning Hell of fire and torment, suffering God's Wrath day and night forever and ever! Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!