Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it – Proverbs 22:6.
A home is not only a place where a family lives but also a training center, with the parents as the primary instructors. If you don’t teach your children about God and His value system, most likely they won’t follow after Him and His ways. Before any effective instructions can be given, a solid relationship must be developed between you and your children. In God’s plan for a family, He created a man and a woman and told them to be “fruitful”. In other words, He wanted them to have children and establish a family. Family is important to God He instituted and established the family before He established the government. Before He established the church, He established the home. In the beginning, the home was where people were trained to walk with God, the home is like a “training center”. It’s a place where parents are supposed to train their children in the ways of the Lord.
The Bible is God’s textbook for His value system. In it, we learn everything about life, godliness, and character (And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge, temperance; and to temperance, patience; and to patience godliness. and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity – 2nd Peter 1:5-6). Contrary to what some parents believe, it’s not the local church’s responsibility to build character in their children or to train their children in the things of God; it starts with the parents.
Every parent has the responsibility to teach his or her children, and the primary training takes place in the home. God wants us to impress His ways upon our children, we do that by talking to our children about God when we’re at home, we instruct them by what we say and what we do. Children are products of their environment, they will do what they see us doing, despite what we tell them. Unfortunately, too many parents teach by philosophy, “Do as I say, but not as I do”. This philosophy sends children mixed messages. Teaching your children starts at an early age. And it begins by first developing a relationship with them.
Relationships are developed by spending time with them, far too many children don’t receive the quality time they should have with their parents. A strong relationship is built by being interested in what your children are interested in. We can’t wait until our children are older to begin developing a relationship. We must start the moment we bring them home from the hospital, matter of fact when we get the good news that we’re pregnant, we can read to our children and quote Scriptures over their life before their birth.
When our children are a priority in our lives and we make time for them and let them know how much we love them and appreciate them, we will be able to talk to them about anything, this also goes for our grandchildren. Then when it comes time for us to discipline them, they will be more inclined to listen to what we have to say rather than rebel against our advice and correction. A relationship is the best foundation for instructions. Without it, our home is just a house where different people live.
Children need to be taught to pray and know that they can trust God. You can’t be with your child or children twenty-four hours of day, but the Lord watches over them. He is a very present help when they are in trouble, and they need to know that.
Because of the lack of godly teaching, so many of the children, teenagers, and young adults are rebellious, and have no respect for themselves or others. When righteousness is instilled in a child, they will carry it, respect it, and do it. Help your child, pray with them, and teach them how to pray!