“Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.” – Proverbs 22:6 (NKJV)
Dr Errol Bhola, author of the book ‘The Christian Home’ wrote, “Obedience is the only basis upon which a child can be properly trained, the only means of molding him in the ways of truth, honesty, righteousness, diligence, etcetera. Moreover, an obedient child will profit from the experiences of his parents. Moses benefited from the experience of his parents, and we read that Christ our Saviour, was subject unto His parents”.
John and Paula Sandford, of ‘Restoring The Christian Family’, highlighted the fact that fathers have abdicated the pilgrim concept given throughout Deuteronomy and Proverbs – that it is their task to teach their own children. Reference was made to biblical times when sharing of the Scriptures was done in the cool of the evening. During children’s first six years much of the job was assigned to mothers while from six years, it became the task of the father to nurture and instruct boys until manhood. Teaching time was considered inviolable and not to be interfered with. Scriptural injunction reads, “Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in my bed; I cannot rise and give thee” – Luke 11:7 (KJV). Thus, it begs the question. How often do we sacrifice our children’s time for more “worthy causes”? We need to inform those persons who seek to infringe upon our quality time with our children that we cannot give them our children’s time.
In today’s world, the antichrist culture has stolen from fathers the daily attentiveness to the life of their own spirits and souls, and therefore fathers’ awareness of their tasks of nurturing their families has been stolen. Some fathers have to work over 12 hours a day to feed their families; when they get home, they are too tired to spend quality time with their children. The father’s absenteeism from quality time in the life of their children is mainly responsible for our children diverting that time period to social media. Over time, social media messages have indoctrinated our children’s thoughts which engenders the development of lifestyles that are rebellious against parental authority. As fathers, and those of us who play a role in the life of children who are fatherless, we need to do self-introspection as we evaluate our relationship with our children.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, we have abdicated our parental responsibilities to train our children in the things of God. We repent and ask Your forgiveness. As fathers, we ask for Your divine wisdom, so that we may manage our home effectively and bring up our children in the fear of You, Lord. In Jesus’s name. Amen!
Read: Deuteronomy 6:6-9; Proverbs 23:12-14; Ephesians 6:4
Bible Reading Guide: Proverbs 19:13-22; I Corinthians 4; I Chronicles 26:20-32; I Chronicles 27
