Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it. – Proverbs 22:6 (NIV)
Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. – Proverbs 22:6 (KJV)
This week we start a new theme: God’s Guidance for Families
Last spring we had the joy of joining friends as they celebrated a significant milestone for their sons and daughters: graduation from high school or college. For these families, like thousands of others across our country, graduation was both a proud moment of past achievement and a time of excitement about future opportunities. As these young people move into the next phase of their lives their excitement is contagious. Some will go directly into the workforce. Some will continue their education. Some will start a family. Some will pursue something completely different. But despite the wide variety of future interests and pursuits, there’s a common theme among these graduates: they will build their future upon the foundation of character, knowledge, and values that have been instilled in them during their formative years.
Proverbs 22:6 points to one of our most important responsibilities as families and as a society: “Start children off on the way they should go.” This verse is sometimes misinterpreted as a promise that, if we raise our children with Godly values and principles, they will never stray from that path. While we hope and pray for that to be true, our children have the same opportunities to make choices, good or bad, as we have. What is true, however, is that a strong foundation of Godly values, character, and knowledge will stay with them and influence those choices as they go through life. Professor Jason DeRouchie, from Bethlehem College & Seminary, puts it this way in an article posted at DesiringGod.org:
“…Proverbs 22:6 implies that the parents’ intentional moral and religious shaping early on will have a permanent effect on their child for good. This statement is not a hard-and-fast promise to parents, however, for the rest of the book makes clear that the power of the youth’s future depends not only on the parents’ guidance but also very much on the choices he or she makes.” (full article is here)
Thank you to all of the parents, families, friends, teachers, small group leaders, church ministries, and other support groups who have helped train our children up “on the way they should go.” You’ve laid the foundation their future.
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