Parenting by Example

Proverbs 22:6 is a well-known verse. It’s often quoted when a child is going astray. It says, "Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it." I think that is a great verse, but here is the question I want to ask you, if you are a parent: Have you done your part? Have you actually trained up a child in the way they should go? Do you understand what that means?

Our job as parents is to point our children to Jesus. Listen to this, parent: if you do not take a proactive interest in your child’s spiritual welfare, someone else will, and it will likely not be good.

Don’t leave it to the public school system to teach your child values. Don’t leave it to the media to teach your child what is right and wrong. That is your job, Mom and Dad. Teach them. Lead them. Guide them. Train them in the way they should go. If you don’t do it, the Bible says, "A child left to himself will bring shame to his mother" (Proverbs 29:15).

What does it mean to train up? One way this phrase can be translated is to create a thirst in. Create a spiritual thirst in the life of your child. How do you do that? By having a walk with God that is attractive. Have a relationship with the Lord that they would want to aspire to. Create in them a thirst to know God like you know God.

To train up a child is to create a thirst in them for the things of God—by example. By modeling it. By showing them what it is to be a real Christian.