Raising Your Champions

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

     First, training commences with childhood.  Proverbs doesn't say, "Train up an adult".  You must begin early.  The Bible says, "Chasten your son while there is hope" (Proverbs 19:18).  If you don't start early, you're going to have a hopeless situation. So start teaching them to walk in the Word of God early.  Begin discovering their unique gifts right from the start.

     Training must also communicate with creativity.  That phrase "train up" has another meaning.  It means putting something into the mouth to be tasted.  Parent, create a hunger in your child for the Word of God.  You can't force feed it.  Don't make it dull and dry.  Teach it creatively by bringing it into everyday life (Deut. 6:6,7).  Encourage and reward your children with Bible stories, Bible games, Christian books, and Christian music.

     Training corrects with consistency.  Don't get the idea that your little darling doesn't need to be corrected.  The modern psychologist will teach you that your child is like a little rosebud and all you have to do is let him bloom, just let him unfold.  Well, he will unfold to black your eye.  If you love your child, you will discipline your child (Proverbs 13:24).

     What is the goal of all this training?  It is to bring a child to Jesus Christ!  It is to help a child to have something that will last him all of his life.  Again, Proverbs 22:6 says, "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it."  That doesn't mean that when he is old he will come back to it.  It means that he will never, ever forsake it.  He will have the Lord in his heart eternally.