Train Up A Child

Yesterday we (my wife, son and his wife and my daughter) decided to have a bit of fun with my son-in-law Ryan (who is a stout Eagle's fan). Since my family are all Pittsburgh Steeler fans (we lived in Pittsburgh for five years prior to living here in Lancaster), we decided to wrap our new little addition to the family in a Steeler Terrible Towel. So while he was out of the hospital room, we took the towel supplied by my son and his wife and did the deed (a dastardly deed from Ryan's perspective)! Of course, when Ryan saw what we had done, he responded just as we had hoped. Later I posted a pic of Jack wrapped in the black and gold on my Facebook page ... and it managed to generate a few comments which only added to our fun (but looking at Jack's face, you have to admit he appears to be enjoying the moment!).

Proverbs 22:6 talks about child rearing. In fact, it may very well be the most quoted verse about parenting. But far too many parents view this verse wrongly. They see it as an iron clad promise from God. And therefore, when their child reaches adulthood and strays from the Faith they have been taught - the parents grow frustrated and angry. That anger is often directed at God. After all, they had done their job as parents. They had trained their child in the way he or she should go ... and yet their child as an adult went a different way! So in their minds they did not fail, God did! He failed to deliver on His promise.

But God never makes an iron clad promise to parents that if they do this and that - that their children will follow in the Faith. The proverbs in the Old Testament book of Proverbs are not promises. Rather they are "truisms." General principles about life that, for the most part are true. But there are exceptions. And when the exceptions come in the realm of parenting, the exceptions are down right heart breaking!

I once heard James Dobson, found of the pro-family ministry Focus on the Family make a statement that should prove helpful to all Christian parents. He said that most Christian parents take too much credit when their kids turn out well ... and too much blame when they don't. Those are words worth thinking about!

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj