Child Training

(Pro 22:6 KJV) Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

We are to “train” (2596) our children. This is a deeper concept than it appears. This is not the common word for teaching or learning. This is closer in meaning to the idea of setting aside that we find in sanctification. This could be referring to the way we dedicate children instead of baptizing them. Dedication is a statement about our commitment, infant baptism is forcing our decision on someone else.

Some would question this and give examples of apostate children. I would have to say that those children were not trained properly. It may have seemed effective, but was primarily surface level. I have always wondered what the magic ingredient was in raising children. I don’t think it is a public statement about following the ways of God. It is much more subtle than that; subtle, yet obvious to the children being raised. One of the most important forces in training is example. It is easy to tell children how to live, it is hard to demonstrate it. People live in denial of what is really going on in the home.

What are some examples of this? Take as an example how much people watch TV. I don’t watch TV as an act of choice. I may watch for awhile if someone else has it on, but usually I try to leave the room if I can do so politely. I doubt if I have turned on the TV more than five times in the last year. I don’t even know what programs are on any more. I have heard people say they do not watch TV yet when they are not thinking they can tell you all about the commercials and know the plots of most of the shows. They are lying or in a state of denial. Take other areas such has how much time people spend with their children, or the statement, “I never let my children _______.” It is a cliche, but actions speak louder than words.

I think this verse implies that the parents were successful in the training. Along with the right standards they demonstrated the right stand.