“Train up a child in the way he should go. Even when he is old he will not depart from it. “
Proverbs 22:6
As a young mom, I thought training a child was simply telling them what was right and wrong and then rewarding or punishing based on their actions or responses to the training.As I matured in my Christian walk, I realized that training is much more than simply teaching and then reacting to a child’s response to that instruction.Training carries with it a responsibility to show the child by example and then help them to carry out responsible behavior.Life lessons are learned through repetition and watching others. Training a child requires both time and effort.
Take the time to not only tell a child but to show a child through example.Instead of saying, read your Bible everyday, sit with them and help them learn how to read and study God’s Word.Let them see you doing the very things you are trying to instill in them.You training time becomes precious quality time with an added benefit of creating a love for God’s Word.
Over the years, the Lord has trained me to walk in His ways.This has sometimes been tough for me because I wanted to do things my way just like my children often wanted to do when I was trying to train them.Yet each time I wanted to go my own way, God patiently and lovingly guided me in the way He needed me to go.He constantly reminds me that as I work with other women, children, grandchildren, etc., they will be watching to be sure that I set an example that goes with the teaching.He reminds me that precious lives have been entrusted to me.He exhorts me to treat them with the same love, patience, honesty, and constructive correction that He shows me.Most of all, I am to give them the gift of my love for the Lord, pray for them daily, and those things that I work to instill in them will take root.
This weekend, invest the time and effort training your child and establishing the foundation that will be the basis for their future.
