I used to be a pediatrician and in that my other life, I had cause to see all sorts of children…. Good children, not so good children, respectful and disciplined children, and children from you know where… God used my exposure to these kids to teach me an important principle that I hope to put into practice in bringing up my own children and I hope it will resonate with all the parents that are out there.
Have you ever wondered why it is that some of the most devout and godly people we know sometimes have some of the worst behaved kids? Have we ever wondered why it is that PKs (Pastor’s kids) very often do not turn out to be stellar and upstanding kingdom citizens? This is not a broad generalization, but a sad truth in Christendom. This is also borne out in scriptures as in the cases of Eli and David’s sons… So why is this so?
In my pediatric practice I would ask teenagers the following question: Do you smoke? And of course the answer would be nooooooo….. Well why not? I would counter with the kids looking at me in amazement and the parents with horror surely thinking ‘ What kind of god-awful doctor have I brought my child to?’…. Well why not? I would repeat and the most common answer was a mumbled ‘I dunno’ then I would say well if you don’t know why you’re not doing what you’re not doing someone WILL come along and give you a reason TO DO IT…. Great sigh of relief from the parents…. :-). You see I found out that in bringing up their children, people sometimes tell their children what NOT TO DO, without giving them a reason why or without teaching them why THEY SHOULD DO the correct thing…. Many a time I have heard parents saying: If I catch you doing this or that I will…. Only to have the kids turn around and do that very thing why ??? I believe it is because telling them what not to do without proper and balanced instruction, sensitizes them to actually doing that wrong thing!…. Is that so? Well according to scripture yes!
Romans 7:7
What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.”
So what would the Lord have us do?
Proverbs 22:6
Train up a child in the way HE SHOULD GO (Not the way he shouldn’t go), And when he is old he will not depart from it.
So what do it mean to train?
train (trn)
verb
1. To coach in or accustom to a mode of behavior or performance.
2. To make proficient with specialized instruction and practice.
3. To prepare physically, as with a regimen: train athletes for track-and-field competition.
4. To focus on or aim at (a goal, mark, or target); direct.
So when the bible says train it means to give specific instruction IN THE WORD….
Is moral instruction wrong? No! but it creates an awareness of sin, AND it does not have any power to effect change; but when we train our children in the WORD the word that is quick and powerful and able to effect change and give life will cause deep seated change to occur and because the WORD abides forever that seed planted will also abide
Deuteronomy 11:18-19
18 “Therefore you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 19 You shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.
So needs must that every Christian parent must know the Word… and study to show themselves approved unto God so that they may train the children that the Lord has given them…. The heritage of the Lord…
Shalom
And for those who are doing this, be encouraged:
Isaiah 54:13
All your children shall be taught by the LORD, And great shall be the peace of your children.
GREAT SHALL BE THE PEACE OF OUR CHILDREN... AMEN
PS I recent asked some school aged kids who did not want to fasten their seatbelts if they knew why they had to fasten their seat belts; and they answered: ‘ It’s so we won’t get a ticket’…. :-).... and of course aunty told them…
