June 12, 2024

Proverbs 22.6 (NIV)
Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.

If every person were free to do whatever feels good, the result would be chaos because human nature instinctively gravitates to evil.*

I have always thought of this proverb as one that offers hope for the parents of a rebellious child. I saw it illustrated in a college friend. He had strayed far from the training he had received in his Christian home but he had finally returned to the Lord. When I asked him what caused him to turn his back on his sinful way of life, he said, “I always knew better.”

There is another school of thought that asserts that, correctly translated, these words are a warning.  “If” you train a child in the manner “in which he wants to be trained,” he will not turn from it.  In other words, parents must not be permissive with young children because this allows them to develop sinful habits and responses, which establishes a pattern into adulthood.*

Whatever interpretation you prefer, they are words to live by. One is a promise, the other is a warning. If you don’t give up on your children; if you don’t let them win in the war of wills, you are more likely to be proud of the men and women they become. If you let them have their way, they are prone to continue to take the path of least resistance for the rest of their lives.

Just loving and indulging your child will not guarantee godly behavior.*