Proverbs 22:6 - "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it."

Thoughts on today's verse:

We often speak of teaching our children, yet children don't just need to be taught, they need to be trained! When we think of teaching we think of the classroom, we think of books, we think of lectures. These all have their place! After all, it was Solomon who wrote this earlier in Proverbs 1:

8 My son, hear the instruction of your father,
And do not forsake the law of your mother;
9 For they will be a graceful ornament on your head,
And chains about your neck.

However, when we think of training our minds often turn to things like athletics, new jobs, learning a musical instrument. These types of things take training; they take practice and diligence! You could learn all there is to know about basketball from a book and from lectures, but it is an entirely different thing to go out on the court and play well. Perhaps you started a new job, or you remember your first day at a brand new job. You couldn't just start and perform well, you had to practice, you had to train. The same could be said of a musical instrument: at the end of the day, it just takes hard work, repition, and much training. This is what the Lord is teaching us as parents, namely two things:

1) A child will not arrive at the right end without any guidance - we must be involved in their lives and upbringing.

And,

2) The process of bringing up a child will take a lot of work - it not something that we can sit back and be passive about!