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| Q: | Matthew Should children be expected to apply Matt. 18 to common everyday infractions such as disputes on the playground or should an adult or teacher take care of the problem? | ||||||
| A: | Children should be taught to practice Matthew 18 in their relationship with other Christians. The degree to which they can do this depends on their maturity, but even a relatively young child can admonish another child who is doing wrong. This does not prevent a child from seeking help from an adult when necessary (this is essentially the same as the second step of Matthew 18). Nor does this exclude the necessity of reporting some offenses to the proper authority, even as adults have to report some offenses to the authorities. Adult supervisors also are responsible to exercise care in preserving good discipline and order. If a child admonishes someone who is doing wrong or who has wronged him or her and the offense is corrected, the matter may stop there. If the matter is uncorrected, the child needs to seek the help of another party. This will most often be an adult. | ||||||
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