Counting to Three-Makes satan Happy?

How can counting to three make satan happy? Parents are just giving their children a chance to mind right? Where’s the evil in that?

Let’s look at the process of counting to three:

Mom: “Pick up your toys, please.”

Child: Stares at mom blankly, cue satan’s arrival “Why is everything you ask him to do a battle? Why can’t he just listen?

Mom: “I’m going to count to three and you better have these toys picked up, mister.”

Child: Starts playing with the toys instead of picking them up, or continues to stare at his mom, curious to see what comes next.

Mom: “One…” satan says; “He’s defying you! He doesn’t respect you, or care about you!” Mom starts to get angry.

Child: Stops playing with his toys, he hears the anger in mom’s voice, but wants to see what comes next.

Mom: “Two…” Mom’s face changes into an angry face, her tone of voice is harsher. satan goads her on by saying; “You should beat his butt, he is outright defying you!” Mom gets angrier still.

Child: Stops stops playing with his toys as he continues to watch his mom, no longer out of curiosity, but out of fear.

Mom: “Three!” Mom gets up and advances on her son angrily, as satan taunts her; “You better yank him up by his arm so that he knows he is not to defy you ever again!”

Child: Is scared, he starts to cry or runs away. (But satan makes it so that mom does not even register her son’s fear, as satan has her focused on her child’s defiance and straight-up disrespect.)

1. Parent gets angrier the closer they get to the number three, and their child becomes more scared of their parent. That’s not God, that’s satan.
2. satan gets an invite into the discipline process where he introduces anger and fear into the parent/child interaction. That’s not God, that’s satan.

So, increasing anger in the parent, and escalating fear in the child, yep, that sounds like satan.

“What can I do if I can’t count to three because I don’t want to make satan happy?” You can use …

God-honoring Discipline strategies

Using Godly corrections will never result in your child fearing you because they require you to remain in control of your anger and that is vital when it comes to disciplining your child in a God-honoring way.

Still skeptical? Let’s try it out…

Mom: “Pick up your toys, please.”

Child: Starts playing with toys, runs away, or stares at parent.

Mom: (Shuts the door on satan quickly using memorized scripture, or calling on Jesus for help) walks over to her son, covers his hand with hers, and calmly says, “Do you need mommy to help you to mind?”

Child: Stares blankly at mom as he’s never heard these words before, nor has mom ever gotten up before getting to three before.

Mom: “Ok, mommy will help you to mind.” Mom’s face does not change, nor does the tone of her voice. Her movements are not jerky, but gentle.

Together, mom and son walk over to the toys and the mom helps her child pick up his toys by grasping her child’s hand and making it close over the toys, then walking son over to the toy box, then opening son’s hand to drop the toy.

The parent may have to do this two or three times before the child understands that they are not getting out of picking up their toys, they are either going to do it with the parent’s help, or they get to do it like a “big boy”, but they will be picking up their toys.

I can’t end a post without seeing what our Father says about counting to three…

What does God say about counting to three? NOTHING, perhaps because God expects a child to do what is asked of them the first time they are asked. Let’s see if scripture supports my claim:

https://bible.org/gsearch?search=Proverbs+1%3A8 Proverbs 1:8 “My child, listen when your father corrects you. Don’t neglect your mother’s instructions.”

Listen when? “When your father corrects you.” Not when your child wants to listen, or feels like listening, but WHEN their father corrects them.

“Don’t neglect your mother’s instructions.” God says children are not to neglect their mother’s instructions, so moms need to nip that behavior in the bud quickly.

I think this scripture also addresses the number of times a mom may find herself repeating instructions to her child before the child listens. We need to remember each of those repeated instructions INVITES satan into the parent/child interaction, where he does not ever belong.

Parents can correct their child’s misbehaviors in a God-honoring way but it’s a hard way that requires self-control, emotional control, and the ability to slam the door on satan thus keeping him out of every parent and child interactions.

Ready to slam some doors?