"I don't go to church anymore because my parents forced me to go as a kid. I didn't have a choice. They 'shoved religion down my throat!" Thus goes the most common excuse for rebellion. But, it's not true. It's only an excuse.
Children will use the word "force" when they are required to do something that they don't want to do. From their point-of-view parents "force" them to do everything good -- clean their room, brush their teeth, eat broccoli, work in the yard, and go to school. Most children whine and complain about all these things. Church is just one other thing that is good that parents want their children to learn.
Having been "forced" to do something they didn't want to do isn't the issue, the issue is that they don't want to do it. When they get out on their own and make their own decisions they don't have to go to church. They don't have to obey the commandments of God. They don't have to brush their teeth, go to school, or clean up after themselves, either. All those things they were "forced" to do are now at the mercy of their own desires.
As well might they say, "I never eat broccoli because my parents 'shoved it down my throat'." Or, "I never clean up my room because my parents forced me to do it." They may decide never to bathe because they were forced as children. Are they going to quit school as soon as they get a little freedom? Many do, but again, it's not because they were forced to go, it's because they didn't want to in the first place.
The truth is, we do exactly what we want to do, irrespective of what our parents did, said, or "forced" us to do when we were children. When a child rebels he is simply following his own desires, doing what he wants, no matter what excuse he gives for being rebellious. He makes his own decisions and will never be able to blame his parents for the consequences that come to him because of them.
There are consequences to every decision we make. The boys have a friend, Conner, who doesn't like vegetables, fruit or whole grains. He lives on pasta, and little else. His parents offer good food, but he refuses to eat it. Now, as a youngster, he doesn't see the difference between him and his friends who are "forced" to eat good food, but in ten or twenty years there will be a HUGE difference. He may have diabetes, arthritis, or any number of indulgent illnesses meaning he'll be in pain all the time, or blind or on dialysis. He will have no energy, and thus no power to "do what he wants" anymore. Misery awaits. Is there anything that can be done? Only if he decides to eat things he doesn't like, the sooner, the better because it will take a long time to undo the damage to his metabolism.
Likewise, the people who rebel against God and don't go to church see no difference between those who do and those who don't. While there are "good roads and good weather" they don't feel the need for spiritual nourishment. They play and laugh. But as time goes on the inevitable problems arise, and when things are really hard they ask, "Where is God when I need Him?" They then say there is no God because He doesn't help them in their hour of need. Just like a sprig of broccoli isn't going to help Conner in ten years when he's sick, a few prayers in their hour of need aren't going to help the rebellious come to know God when they've been denying Him for years. Parents need to "force" their children to learn how to connect with God so they have the option of choosing life.
Should we "force" our children to do good? Yes. They need to know what is right and what is wrong. They need to be taught how to choose the right. This is how they are taught by precept and example. They must experience some things or they will never know. They need to learn to like broccoli, studies with children indicated that it takes about ten times of being exposed to a food that they don't like for them to eat it willingly. They need to be in school and learn the things of the world, even if they hate their English teacher. They need to experience the joy of hard work and a job well-done even when they would rather be watching TV. They need to feel the Spirit of God and see the hand of the Lord in their lives even if going to church is "torture." Yes, we make them do things they don't want to do because if we don't the only other option is a life, and an eternity, of pain and suffering.
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