Train up a Child

The statement "train up our child in the way they should go" is not a promise, it is a general principle. No parent can train their child perfectly because we are not perfect and each child will have a free will to walk with God or not.

God created the perfect children beings in Adam and Eve and yet they made the choice to disobey the perfect Father.

We must obey God and teach and train our children in the ways of the Lord, that will be on us, but the choice of the child is not on us.

Ezekiel 18:20 "

The person who sins will die. A son will not suffer the punishment for the father’s guilt, nor will a father suffer the punishment for the son’s guilt; the righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself."

Those who proudly think they will do the perfect job and their children will come out the way they expect are denying free will of the child. God never forces anyone and good teaching does not force a child, only the choice of the child prevails. The children will emulate the pride of the parents and follow their example more than their words.

Romans 3:10-17

10 as it is written:

“There is no righteous person, not even one;

11 There is no one who understands,

There is no one who seeks out God;

12 They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt;

There is no one who does good,

There is not even one.”

13 “Their throat is an open grave,

With their tongues they keep deceiving,”

“The venom of asps is under their lips”;

14 “Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness”;

15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood,

16 Destruction and misery are in their paths,

17 And they have not known the way of peace.”

We must remember that we should do what God commands but our obedience, which should be an example to others is not a guaranteed formula that others will choose to obey God.

I have known many godly people who came from wicked families and I have known children who came from godly families who rejected Christ.

If we thought we could use a formula that would make it all happen correctly then our trust is in our formula and not in Christ. If we trust in ourselves to make sure the children get it, then we are trusting in ourselves. We must trust in Christ, be obedient and leave the rest to Christ. God will work in our children and they must make their own choice.

I have heard parents say things like; "I will win my child to me so that he does the right thing." We must never work to win our children to ourselves, we must preach the truth and pray that God win them to Himself.

One of the reasons so many parents are devastated when their children reject God or choose a superficial spirituality is because they have been filled with pride about how good they believe they will do. Family appearances then become more important than the inner heart of their children.

May each one of us trust Christ and not ourselves or the perceived appearance to others. Even if others have a view of us that elevates us, God still sees the real us and sometimes Spirit-filled believers see the real us too.

Depending on ourselves and our formulas will often accomplish the opposite of God's desires.

Hebrews 4:13 "13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account."