As we finish up with our study of this chapter regarding children, it reminded me of the scripture from Proverbs 22:6,”Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.”
It doesn’t matter if we homeschool or send a child to public school or if the child isn’t our biological child, when a child is under our care, we are responsible for what they see, read and watch. We are responsible for how they learn to act, react and interact.
We can check a child to a playdate, but ultimately WE are responsible for their socialization skills….not the other mother or the children and being a presence isn’t just enough.
God gave us the responsibility as parents that we are ultimately the foundation, second to that of Christ himself, in their upbringing and no one else is.
I notice in mom’s groups where mothers talk about socializing their child and would blame other mothers for “bad behavior” but yet think nothing of their own behaviour or the influence they have over their own children. It’s always, “Little Sue must get this from here or there”, or “Little Jimmy just wants his own way and I just don’t get it. Oh and why don’t you act like this or that way to and for me by the way”?
Children learn by example and not by what others say or do, that plays a small part, but how much we do and do not really participate in their lives. If we rely on others to raise our children or to babysit our children completely, we have to accept that we don’t really have say in how they are being raise and must not be surprised if they don’t act in a way that we find acceptable.
Our children need role models but more than anything, they need us…Not our babysitters, the teachers, the other kids, the other parents…but us. If we don’t make real time for them instead of carving out time for others to teach them….we are not embracing the full responsibility that God has given us…not the babysitter, the teachers, the moms groups or worse of all…the t.v.
Children are empty slates and they are going to turn to any source that demands and gets their attention and we as parents must be proactive and fight for that attention instead of looking for answers anywhere but through God and through Him to us.
In “God’s promises about Children“, the author of the article wrote:
“Some interpreters understand this to mean “his way,” that is, the child’s way. They say that parents and teachers must learn the natural inclinations of the child and direct him thus. To prove that this is the wrong explanation, we need only consider Isaiah 53:6, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
Since the verse says, “All we,” that must include children. Every child has already turned “to his own way;” he does not need to be trained in it. Worst of all, the Lord describes “turning to our own way” as “the iniquity of us all,” and reveals the outrage of that iniquity by telling us that it was what Christ bore on the cross. Clearly, then, we do not need to train up a child in his own way, which in God’s sight is sin.
It pains my heart to hear from parents who wait to late to “raise their kids” and to hear them go,”I wish” ,”If only”, “I should” when they have an opportunity today and with the Lord, to raise their children in a way that will glorify God and not sadden Him.
Children are a blessing that God has entrusted to us, not the t.v. or anyone else, but to us, to raise, to guide and to protect. They are not accessories to match us our lifestyles and it reminds me of the fateful warning that is written to us,
Galatians 5:7-8
“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction: the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.”
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Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts on this issue. You made the point that our children need US. Oh you are so right. They need OUR interaction, OUR advice (even if they don’t like our advice LOL), etc.
Sorry I haven’t been around much. We still don’t have the internet set up at our home yet. We are hoping it will be set up tomorrow.
Take care,
Karen
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Karen(Quote) (Reply)
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Amen my friend.
denises last blog post..Miracle Monday
denise(Quote) (Reply)
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@Karen: Just praying and hoping that you can get things resolved…I can imagine that you must be anxious to get things back to normal!
Twinkle Mom(Quote) (Reply)
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