A Quick Course in Parenting - Pt 9

The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel: To know wisdom and instruction, to understand words of insight, to receive instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice, and equity; to give prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the youth— Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance, to understand a proverb and a saying, the words of the wise and their riddles. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. (Proverbs 1:1-7 ESV). Over the past week we have looked at seven different principles for Christian parenting. Today we’ll se the eighth and final for this little series. There is no substitute for showing your children the truth through the Scripture. Teach your children to know God and bring them up in the Church. Parents will build a secure foundation for their children if the Bible is read regularly in the home, grace is said at the table and family prayers take place regularly. While it is best to start as early as possible, it is never too late to share Scripture with your children. Every time I encounter a strong, vibrant human being, I always remind myself that that individual did not come to such strength all by himself or herself. At the back of every healthy personality lies one of the oldest and most significant of all human arts, namely, the art of parenting. Here is human creativity at its highest. But these days the task of parenting ought to include far more people than just two biological mates. It is becoming painfully obvious in our day that the isolated nuclear family cannot bear the full load of parenting. In fact one of the finest missions a church could assume would be that of "compensatory parenting" where the natural family structure has broken down for one reason or another. Back in the days when people lived in clan-like groupings, if a child's parents became incapacitated in some way, other family members stepped in to fill the vacuum. The same needs exist today, only we no longer live in clans, so some other mechanism needs to function here. The Church could be an expanding family which monitors what is happening to whom and then steps in to help a child grow into those two most important realities, who they are and why they are. Finally, to really succeed as a parent one needs above all a happy heart, free of worry and care. This allows one to carry the heavy responsibilities of raising children with joy and confidence. That's why parents need above all a good trusting relationship with their Heavenly Father.