GCD Short - Train Up A Child

 

 Proverbs 22:6 "Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it."

What does it mean to train up a child in the way he should go and how does one accomplish this? A child is a creature that needs our protection and that also needs to be taught everything. A child knows nothing from birth except that when it reacts to it's own discomfort by crying, someone comes to try to rectify the situation. This is why a child has to learn mobility, sounds, sights. There are some things that we cannot teach a child so much as our responsibility is to create the circumstances for the child to learn these things themselves. This includes rolling over, crawling, bouncing, walking and eventually running. These are all things that animals have to teach themselves too, but because of the nature of life for an animal, this happens much faster for them than it does for people.

But what of the things that we need to teach our children? Well, that is really almost everything besides what I have elucidated above. Our kids literally know nothing. I don't know if some parents out there are completely unaware of this. Our kids need to be taught how to treat people, because if they aren't they will act like animals, being selfish and aggressive towards others. Our kids need to learn the value of working with others and being responsible. This begins in the home among the family, and the lessons they learn here they will bring with them into the real world of school and work. When mom and dad do everything for their child and do not place chores, responsibilities and expectations on their child, then the child expects that other people will do things for them for the rest of their life, which only creates a life of strife for the child and everybody around them.

But the most important thing that parents need to teach their child is to have a relationship with their Creator. Everything else lasts only 80 to 100 years, which seems like a long time but it is really just the blink of an eye; the relationship with God, or the lack of it, lasts for eternity. This teaching begins very, very early. Even before your child can speak, you can be reading Bible stories to them, and if there are pictures your child will associate the pictures with the words. Even your tone of voice as you read will become a point of reference for your child in relation to the things of God. The recognition of God in your household should be a regular thing, through prayer, conversation and singing. Put on Christian music while your kids are awake, even if it just plays in the background, but don't think that it needs to play all of the time; quiet is excellent for a child's development as well. I think that there should be a wide variety of experiences in life for children and adults, but it should all be done in moderation. Too much of a good thing can cause as much trouble as too much of a bad thing.

Ideally, your child should be exposed to other people in the context of praising and learning about God as well, through Sunday School, church or other gatherings. These will all help to raise your child to live in relationship with God. But you must also be intentional about introducing your child to Jesus as their personal Saviour. This is not something to be left to chance.

And as the verse at the top says, if you train them in the way they should go, they will not depart from it. They may venture away for a time in pursuit of their own understanding, and hopefully you are able to watch over them that they do not get deceived by some other teachings, but if you have intentionally invested in your child from their very early years, it is very likely that they will return to what you have shown them once they find that what the world has to offer dulls in light of what they have already been shown, though there may be heartache in the meantime.

This is not a guarantee, but it is an accurate maxim. Show your child what you want them to find, and if you have made it appealing in their youth, they will most likely find it appealing in their adulthood. You can't force them to believe the same as you do, but you can exemplify the better way.