Train up a child in the way he should go:
and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
Proverbs 22:6 KJV
and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
Proverbs 22:6 KJV
You can hear something all of your life, like the scripture above, but never really hear it. Some time ago I was trying to give Godly counsel to someone who was having problems with their teen. This was a healthy teen with raging hormones and no regard for authority especially parental authority. Through our discussion, I realized that these issues were not new, but had been present since the teen was a child. Only now that the issues were embarrassing and the potential consequences for the teen severe was the parent trying to uuuuhhhmmmm be a a parent.
It was at that point that I heard Proverbs 22:6 again; yet for the first time. It says train up a child. The key words being UP and CHILD. Don't wink at the shenanigans of a child but train them to know that some things won't be tolerated. Let them know as a child that their cuteness does not exempt them from being held accountable, nor keep them from being punished. Remember the old saying, the bigger they are the harder they fall and apply it to spiritual situations. Deal with that attitude while they're small, so you won't be fighting them off when they're big. Teach your child now, so you don't have to cast a demon out of your teen later. Give the child the Word of God as a child so they'll have the power to resist the devil and make him flee as a teen.
Pray for me that I practice what I've preached for my four. This may sound crazy but they don't deserve to have their way. God deserves to have his.
SLC
