11/05/2024 – Train the Child – Part 1
Proverbs 22: 1 A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, Loving favor rather than silver and gold. 2 The rich and the poor have this in common, The Lord is the maker of them all. 3 A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself, But the simple pass on and are punished. 4 By humility and the fear of the Lord Are riches and honor and life. 5 Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse; He who guards his soul will be far from them. 6 Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.
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Children face many challenges in their young lives. When people are at their weakest, that is when the predatory forces of evil see the greatest opportunity. Just as we see in the wild, so it is in the world. One of the greatest challenges children face is bad examples. There are more bad examples than good ones. Most people children will see will provide a negative example to them. This is why the Lord warns us to be careful not to make His little children stumble. God also dedicates angels to their care- He does not leave them defenseless. God has surrounded children with an army to protect them.
But the greatest responsibility and the greatest influence falls on the parents- father and mother. They are to provide for the children, to protect them and to be the best example for them. Angels are primarily messengers – they are not here to raise your children. That is your job.
Children are vulnerable in many ways. They are small, with little physical strength. They lack authority and power. Their brains are not fully developed. But there is a clear advantage for children over grownups – the ability to learn. A child learns without even trying. God made their brains this way. As adults, we need to make a gargantuan effort to learn a new language. They are speaking it fluently in a matter of months.
This is one of the ways the Lord commands that we must be like children- we must be trainable. Some people are not trainable- they are not able, or worse…they are not willing to learn. They think they know the best way to do everything. But we need to come to God like little children, eager to learn how to walk like Him, live like Him!