Train up a Child

Prov. 22:6

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from 

it. 

This little scripture holds much responsibility for you as parents.

He has given you a precious gift, but it is your job to train them in the ways of the 

Lord. 

YOU are the parent! Many kids try to run the household.  We had one with 

that personality! At a very early age we had many battles of will. And I would 

have to say that it would have been a whole lot easier at the time to just back off 

and let her have her way. BUT in the long-run this is not good! 

Tim would come home from work on 2nd shift and find me on the floor crying 

because I could not get our little one to bed. She was happily playing! With his help 

and many (did I say many??) spankings, we won! There was a time Tim had to call 

in to work and tell them he’d be late because he had to see a battle won without 

quitting! Oh, it was very hard. 

So, there are many of us who understand that this road is not easy. But it is 

worth the fight. We will stand before God and give an account for the training of 

our children. 

Yes, we advocate spanking (which I understand is NOT a popular concept 

today! It actually wasn’t with many then either…). The Bible talks about spanking 

many times. So much in the book of Proverbs that I drew little stick people by them 

for quick encouragement. The Bible works! God’s ways don’t always LOOK like 

they are working. So don’t let go. You can’t find any references in the Bible to 

time-out or scolding- although we used both of these too. When the children were 

older we used “work detail” as discipline! 

I truly believe your method of training is important. You can belittle a child 

with your words that they will remember for years. We want them to KNOW that 

they are loved and that they are precious! 

But, my word of encouragement to you today is to hold fast! Train them in 

every way!  Help them to memorize scripture. Train them not to let their minds run 

wild but to take thoughts captive. Train them how to work. (We had an elderly 

lady speak that to us when our children were quite young. Kids need to learn to 

work!  Such is life!)  Train them in respect and knowledge. Wow! The list can go on 

and on.

(Can I assure you here that there is no such thing as a perfect parent? Don’t let the 

enemy beat you up on this.) 

There is also promise at the end of this verse. He promises that they will not 

depart. Don’t let go of this! Even when it looks like they are departing, a praying 

momma is invaluable! And know that God loves your kids even more than you love 

your kids!  Isn’t that great to know?  

And He never gives up on us!