“Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6 NKJV What exactly does this mean? Take him to church and school and let someone else do what God says I should do? No. This goes far beyond making him brush his teeth and take a bath. There are other important things to learn.
I take my kids to Chick-fil-a and give them their money and make them pay for it. Since they were little I let them decide if they wanted the book/toy or ice cream. If ice cream was their choice then as toddlers, they took their prize to trade it in for ice cream. I see teenagers who can’t cope. They are afraid to go ask for a refill or order their own food. I have had lots of criticism for the way I have raised my children, but I have always felt that if they could do it then they should. They have been raised to take care of themselves and their belongings.
All responsibility has be stripped from children. It’s no wonder they fail to thrive as young adults. All children need responsibility. There is always something they can do for themselves. We teach them to feed themselves and go to the bathroom. Why does it end there?
Training them up in the way they should go also refers to their natural talent or inclination. This is about what God has created them to do. The world tries to make everyone the same. Give them the same education, the same experiences and put them in a box. Gender is even being taken away from our children. “The world” wants to produce cookie cutter people. My son is now being homeschooled. He cannot get enough science. We have finished a year-long astronomy curriculum and a dinosaur unit study. With just over half of the year completed, we are now doing another year-long flying creatures curriculum and an electricity/electronics course. His math is amazing too, he can do it in his head quicker than I can. This child is obviously going to be in science or engineering. It is my job as his parent to encourage and enable him in these things. I would have never known this about my child if he were in public school. His natural bent and desires would have been stifled.
Spiritually speaking, we need to teach our children about the Lord.
Deuteronomy 4:9 “Only take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And teach then to your children and your grandchildren.”
Deuteronomy 6:6-9 “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
A baby eagle was born to soar. It takes a wise mother to pull the feathers and comfort from the nest to make the child uncomfortable enough to want to leave when it is time. It is not our job to continue parenting when our children are grown.
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