Michelle Duggar Uses 'Matthew' 18 to Guide Children, Stop Fighting
Michelle Duggar revealed that she turns to the Bible when she needs a little help raising her 19 children. Duggar cited a passage in the scriptures that she tends to use when it comes to disciplining her children and dealing with selfishness.
"There is a price to be paid for being selfish," Duggar said in a video for TLC. "I'm going to go nuts if all day long I'm refereeing these little ones!"
What passage does the mother of 19 use to keep her sanity? The answer comes from the book of "Matthew," chapter 18, verses 15-17.
"If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector," the Bible says, according to the New International Version.
Duggar has put her own spin on the text in order to deal with bickering children and retain control in the household.
"If you have a problem you talk sweet to your brother or sister. If they came up and took your dump truck away from you, you talk sweet to them and try and turn their heart to God saying, 'Brother don't take that truck away.' If brother doesn't listen, then you come and tell mama because that's when I need to get involved," Duggar explained.
The mother of 19 has always maintained a motherly, Godly influence on her children. She and husband Jim Bob have worked hard to bring their children up in a Christian household.
"Usually by the time mine [children] are five or six years old, they really do get along because they've learned there is a price to be paid for being selfish," Duggar added. "Nobody enjoys being around someone that's selfish. Of course the selfishness doesn't pay off because you don't get whatever it is you threw a fit for."
The Duggars currently star on "19 Kids & Counting" on TLC.
