Weird: Parenting Devotional (Day 5 of 5)

Weird: Parenting – Day 5 of 5

Throughout the Bible, we read several examples of parents who did an extraordinary job of teaching and training their children, and a number of examples of those who did not. A couple of examples of parents who did teach and train their children well include:

Timothy was trained well by his mother and grandmother, and Paul continued to teach Timothy throughout his ministry (2 Timothy 1:5).

Zacharias and Elizabeth, parents of John the Baptist, were righteous in God’s eyes (Luke 1:6).

A couple of examples of parents who did not teach or train their children well include:

King Solomon, who wrote the Proverbs and had more wisdom than anybody else, did not himself always make wise choices, and even did evil in the eyes of God, not modeling Godly actions to his children (1 Kings 11:4-13).

Eli, Samuel’s greatest influence, did not train up his own children well. God revealed to Eli that neither he nor his children would be forgiven for his wrongdoing (1 Samuel 3:11-14).

These passages all affirm that parents have an extraordinary role in the teaching/training of their children. Not only that, but they also affirm that God has disciplined parents for not following His commands to do so.

Read: Proverbs 1:7

Questions to Consider:

• Can you think of any other examples in the Scriptures that show a parent (or parents) who did an extraordinary job of training up their children?
• Can you think of any other examples in the Scriptures that show a parent (or parents) who did a poor job of training up their children?
• Read Proverbs 1:7. What does it mean that the fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge? Does fear mean to be afraid of God, or does it mean something different?
• How can you best teach your children to fear God?

Prayer:

Father, I pray that You will continue to instill Your wisdom in me as to how I can best train up my children to follow You. I realize this isn’t a process that will not happen right away, but is more of a continual investment I need to make in the lives of my kids. Help me to stay the course and remain encouraged that I am building a faith foundation that my children will build on the rest of their lives. I pray for You to teach and lead me in the way I should go. I pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.