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"TRAIN UP A CHILD..."
INTRODUCTION
I preach a sermon where I begin by writing all the names of the children in the
congregation on the board, in full view of the whole assembly. Then I say, "Statistics show that about one
out of three of our children will be lost, which names do you want me to erase?" I go to the board and begin
randomly, indiscriminately blotting out the names of some of the children. While it is true that no parent wants
any of those children to be lost, without exception, no parents want THEIR children to be lost and some of those
names erased were their children! I have found it to be an effective way of getting the point across.
The wise man said, "Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it,"
(Prov. 22:6). Some proverbs are not designed to convey absolutes. Consider the difference between the statement,
"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (1:7) and "The hand of the diligent shall bear
rule; but the slothful shall be put under taskwork" (12:24). The first confirms that all true wisdom begins
with reverence for God. The second is not always true -- there are some who bear rule who are dishonest, lazy crooks.
Proverbs 22:6 is not designed to state that absolutely every child who has been trained properly will always be
faithful to the Lord. Its design is to show a connection between proper training and the kind of a child that training
produces. A child is not a robot which can be programmed so that the final product is, without exception, a wise
son. Each child, as an individual created in God's image, will make his own choices about whom he will serve in
this life and is, ultimately, accountable for himself. Some parents may use that truth to excuse their poor parenting
skills and feel better about their failures. Others, who did everything possible to train their children in the
Lord's ways, may be burdened with guilt when their children leave the faith, because they think they failed as
a parent. If both are basing their evaluations solely on the meaning of Prov. 22:6, they both misunderstand the
proverb and its purpose.
The purpose of these lessons is not only to give Bible based information about training children but also to encourage
proper parental training. Rearing faithful children is comprehended in these four things: PREREQUISITES, PURPOSE,
PROCEDURE , and PRODUCT. By "prerequisites" I mean that rearing children must begin with God fearing,
dedicated parents who know the value of their children's souls and will be committed to doing whatever it takes
to rear their children in the Lord. By "purpose" I mean that parents must always have one purpose in
mind. They must have a plan and they must pray for wisdom to accomplish it. By "procedure" I mean the
process that is involved in what the Bible refers to as "training". Procedure demands the daily, patient
application of God's ways. And, by "product" I mean faithful, responsible, God fearing children.
Every faithful, loving parent will do everything possible to train their children in the right way, because he
cares about their eternal well being. Some children have the best environment, love and training but choose to
go away from what is right -- before God, they must choose for themselves. Parents need not carry a burden of guilt
when they have done the best that they can do.
There are three reasons for this kind of a study. First, some parents employ
poor parenting skills which are actually self defeating and destructive. Second, other parents have some knowledge
of what needs to be done but either are too lazy or do not have the time and energy to be Godly parents. They are
too involved with the world to make the daily, tough decisions that have to be made for the eternal well being
of their children. Negligent parents are training their children to become a generation which does not know God
(cf. Judges 2:10). If their children are baptized, most will become even weaker than their parents were. Third,
concerned, conscientious parents need encouragement for what appears to be, at times, a losing proposition. They
need the reinforcement for their labor that can come from Bible truth and the experiences of others.
[Outline] [Purpose] [Recommended Reading] [Introduction] [Lesson
I] [Lesson II] [Lesson III] [Lesson IV] [Lesson V] [Lesson VI] [Lesson VII] [Lesson VIII] [Lesson IX]
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