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FATHER-FIGURE (1): Becoming the Best of Parents to your Child

The Bible tells us, “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it (Prov. 22:6 ESV).”
THE BIG QUESTION: How do we as parents or guardians know the “way” the child under us should go?
Unfortunately, the breakdown of our society today, which can be traced down to the breakdown of the family, is largely as a result of our inability to address the above question properly. The usual approach, especially in this part of the world, is to make as much money as possible to keep the child as comfortable as possible; push the child into school as soon as possible; hurry him/her through Primary and Secondary School as quickly as the system allows, sponsoring cheating if need be, and jumping classes along the line; get him/her into the university to study whatever pleases you, not necessarily the child; help him/her (if you can) land a plum job; and then sit back to enjoy the fruits of your labour. All these we do leaving out the key component of our job.
That key component is this: knowing the way the child should go! Training a child without first knowing the way he should go is tantamount to gambling with the destiny of that child. If you’re to climb over a wall using a ladder, wisdom demands that you ensure the ladder is leaning against the right wall before you start climbing. It will be painful to discover in the end that you’ve been climbing against the wrong wall. Peter Ducker said, “There’s nothing as useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.”

Manoah

The character for our study here is Manoah, the father of Samson. An angel visited his (barren) wife and told her she would have a son, and then gave instructions concerning the nature of the son and their responsibilities as parents towards the son. Manoah was not there when the message came, so, when he was briefed, he prayed, "O Lord, please… TEACH US what we are to do with the child who will be born (Judges 13:8 ESV)."
Later on, when the angel visited again, he inquired, “…what is to be the child's manner of life, and what is his mission? (vs. 12)”
Many of you reading this are young parents, newly married, or soon-to-be married. Now, at worst, you have six (6) months to prepare for the arrival of your baby. The Lord may not expressly announce to you the arrival of your baby like He did Samson, Esau and Jacob, John the Baptist and Jesus. But He has set natural events to inform you several months beforehand. Why not use that opportunity to find out the “way” the child soon to born will go.
Sometime last month (March 23, 2013), we wrote on Destiny Diversion. There, we highlighted the evil effects of making your child act out the script you (not his Maker) wrote out for him. You must begin to realize that every child born has a contribution to make in the world he is born into, a problem (at least) to solve for humanity, and a mission to accomplish for his Maker. You’re only robbing him of that opportunity if you do not take the time to find out what his mission is.
Knowing the mission of your soon-to-be-born child is not actually difficult. It only requires you to have a working relationship with the Lord; and then to ask Him in prayer. When you have this information, it will now enable you fulfil Proverbs 22:6, channelling your child early in life to his mission. Only then will you truly enjoy the fruits of your labour and get Divine Commendation as well.
Another aspect of knowing the way a child should go (as we’ll find in Judg.13:12) is on the MANNER OF LIFE the child should live. It’s disheartening to see children know all the current affairs in football, Reality Shows and the Entertainment Industry; but they cannot tell correctly (that is, if they've heard of) the story of the Birth of Jesus Christ! – Yet they celebrate Christmas every year.
Train your children with the Word of God. Let their values be founded upon Scripture, and not lessons from the telly or the streets. You cannot depend on the school to do this for you, as their primary interest is academic excellence which will improve their chances of getting more enrolments, thereby making more money.
The church, sadly, cannot even help you achieve this with the normal Sunday Children’s Section teachings. You hardly see solid, dedicated Children Ministries around these days. It is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY primarily, to teach your children values. The society will be better if we take seriously this high calling to bear and rear children.
May the Good Lord help us all to raise godly children who understands their role (mission) in life and are energised to play those roles.
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