Train Up A Child

by Travis L Quertermous

From The Reminder, November 7, 2010

The Book of Proverbs is a wonderful source of divine wisdom on most every area of life. God has many things to say to parents in Proverbs. One of those verses is Proverbs 22:6, which says, “Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.”

This verse emphasizes the importance of parents training their children. This means giving them the proper instruction, the right example for them to follow, and the proper discipline. For example, if we want our children to learn to pray, we must teach them what the Bible says on prayer and we must let them hear us praying. If we want our children to be responsible, we must discipline them fairly and promptly when they break the rules.

It is also important to train them “in the way he should go,” not necessarily in the way we want them to go. Too many parents try to live vicariously through their children. We may want them to be a professional baseball player or a doctor, but if they have no ability or interest in those areas, we should not push them to do something they don’t want to do. Our job as parents is  to help them discover their own God-given abilities and then use them in His service and the service of others.

Parenting isn’t easy, but studies show that parents are still the number-one influence in their children’s lives. May God help us to train our children properly!