Train Up a Child (Part 3)

Proverbs 22:6

In the previous lesson we focused on the word “train” and showed that if there is a failure in the verse it is probably our fault in training. In this lesson we will look at two verses from the New Testament that go very well with our verse from Proverbs. As we will show from these verses one of the failures with bad training can be disappointment in the child. We will look also at an Old Testament passage concerning the Children of Israel to show us some of the signs of disappointment.

Two verse from the New Testament on Raising Children:

1)  Ephesians 6:4 (Provoke not your children to wrath)

• Here we see a command to provoke not your children to wrath, but to raise them in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

2)  Colossians 3:21 (Provoke not your children to anger)

• Here we see a command to provoke not your children to anger lest they be discouraged.

When we think about this last verse we see that discouragement is real when it comes to poor training. Think about how discouraged adults get when they train in a physical sense yet they still cannot seem to lose weight.

Children can be discouraged in many ways but they are not always good at expressing discouragement as they may not even fully understand what it means. So when they are discouraged it may be manifested in other ways such as acting up, anger, disobeying rules or even all out rebellion. Remember think about how we react to being disappointed with weight loss, our jobs, church situations etc.

Since children are not always good at expressing discouragement let us look at a passage from the Old Testament to discover some signs of discouragement.

Signs of Discouragement: (Numbers 21:1-9)

• Note that the children of Israel are discouraged because of the way (verse 4).
• We are trying to train children up in the way that they should go, but that way is not always easing it can be both hard and discouraging.

1)  They began to criticize everything (verse 5)

• They spoke against God and Moses

2)  Lost sight of their purpose (verse 5)

• They knew that God had not brought them out to kill them.

3)  They distorted the truth (verse 5)

• They said they had nothing to eat.

4)  They hated the blessing they had (verse 5)

• They said that they loathed the manna (light bread).

Finding Balance:

As with anything balance is usually always the key, but it is usually one of the hardest things to find, especially in raising children. Ephesians 6:4 gives us some help in this direction. Note we are told to raise children in the NUTURE and ADMONITION of the Lord.

Nurture – food or diet; that which provides growth, education or instruction.

Admonition – gentle reproof; counseling against a fault; instruction in duties, caution in direction

Note that the verse says “of the Lord”. If we could learn to do these as the Lord does by studying and applying his word we would most likely find balance it is a little easier achieving the balance needed in raising our children.