Stewards as parents
“Train a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not turn from it.” (NIV) Proverbs 22:6
I believe as a Christian, it is important to take care of everything that was received especially from the Lord and Children are not an exception. Children are reward from the Lord (Psalm 127:3) and this makes it the reason why we need to train them to know the Lord and do His will as a sign of appreciation to the Lord.
Recently, very horrifying news about children taking guns to school and killing other children have become very common. Many parents, in the quest to please their children allow their children to have their own way whether good or bad. To correct a child in recent times is seen as abuse of the child. I witnessed a three-year-old verbally abuse an elderly woman as his father looked on and laughed. I was not amused at all, so I sought to correct the child, but his father sharply said, “he is only a child”. Many adults are arrogant, disrespectful and feel the world owes them everything not because they were born to be that way but as children, they lacked the godly parental guidance that will shape their character into adulthood.
It is time for parents to take up the mandate as parents and execute the responsibilities of bringing up the children that God has gifted in a godly way. Never leave the training of your children to chance and it is never too early to introduce a child to God. It starts now! Rebuke them when necessary and reward good behavior. To want to please your child at all times is a recipe for disaster in the future. A story is told of an adult with one eye. So, he asked his mom how come the other eye was not functional. The mother said he was born with both eyes functional but when he was young, he was playing with a pointed object and accidentally hurt his eyes with it. So, he asked his mom why she did not take that object from him and her response was that he cried when the object was taken so she allowed him to play with it. Then the young man told his mother that it is her fault that he is blind in one eye.
And for other adults who look on when children are going wayward, it is time to get involved in correcting them. Do not sit on the fence. Do your part because when these children become deviants in our society, you will not be spared. God bless us all.