Train up a child in the way he should go - Woe to the world...

Proverbs 22:5-6 (NASB) from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

⁵ Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse;
He who guards himself will be far from them.
⁶ Train up a child in the way he should go,
Even when he is old he will not depart from it.

These two verses may seem unrelated at first glance, but in many ways what we see in our culture today, is that we are experiencing the thorns and snares spoken of in verse 5 because we have failed to follow the instruction of verse 6. The truth is that someone will train up our children. It is simply a matter of who and what that training is.

Our society and culture is sometimes described as the post-Christian era. In the early 1960’s we began effectively removing God from our school system. The 60’s also saw the birth of the free love movement, contributing to an escalation in moral decline. Sadly the 60’s and 70’s saw the first ever veterans of war return to be viewed as outcasts and villains rather than heroes.

These things were and are in many ways media driven. With advances in technology, the ability and methods used to distribute and communicate information continue to change. The 60’s and 70’s saw the explosion of television as the primary form of media for entertainment and communication. We can see a the rapid progression in the loss of moral fiber in television programming, to the extent where what once would have been seen only in x-rated movies is now viewed in prime time by our children.

Someone is teaching our children. The proverb says “Train up a child in the way he should go; Even when he is old he will not depart from it.” Obviously it doesn’t mean that children will never stray from the things they are taught. Each of us has been given a free will and so each will make choices regarding how they choose to live and act.

In Deuteronomy 11:18-28, God instructed the Israelites about teaching His commandments to their children and described the blessings and the curses of compliance or failure.

   Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. ¹⁹ Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. ²⁰ Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, ²¹ so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth….²⁶ See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse— ²⁷ the blessing if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today; ²⁸ the curse if you disobey the commands of the Lord your God and turn from the way that I command you today by following other gods, which you have not known.

Again it is not that our children will never stray from the things we teach them. But if we fail to teach them at all then who will teach them. It is not by accident or without reason that the battle for our culture and our society is fought in the developing minds of our children. Jesus said we should have the faith of a child in order to enter the kingdom of heaven. Children have a tendency to believe what they are told and taught. Even when they rebel against the things we have taught them there is still a basic underlying moral fiber and knowledge of right and wrong that is instilled through Godly teaching and principles.

We are now seeing the third generation of children being taught by a Godless education system and being influenced by a morally bankrupt entertainment media. Our news media has lost it’s integrity and it’s ability and desire to speak truth. We have turned into a society that receives it’s information in sound bites, a few words which can’t possibly tell the true story. Truth and facts have become a useless commodity and have given way to ratings, likes and follows.

The world, our society and culture may not accept and believe, but we as believers, followers of Christ, need to understand what we really face in our society today.     our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. (Ephesians 6:12)  Someone is teaching our children and if it will not be us, who know God and values His commandments, His teachings, His morals and His idea of right and wrong, then it will be “ the powers of this dark world and  the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”  

We, the church and believers need to heed the advice of 2 Chronicles 7:14. if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

If we want to see the thorns and snares of this perverse generation broken down and removed, we need to pray. We also though need to no longer abdicate our God given responsibility to train up our children. We need to teach and train them even before they are exposed to a Godless education system. We need to protect them from an amoral entertainment industry.

In Matthew 18 Jesus is asked about greatness in the kingdom of God:   At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

² He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. ³ And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ⁴ Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ⁵ And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.

⁶ “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. ⁷ Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come!

 Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it. -    See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse -  Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come!

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit forgive us for neglecting our responsibility to train up our children in the way they should go. Cause an awakening in Your people, to seek Your face, to humbly pray, to recognize that our battle is not against other people who are following and teaching the wrong ways. Our battle is against the spiritual darkness that empowers and inspires lies and deception.  Awaken a new generation who will faithfully train up their children. Remove the curse of thorns and snares from this perverse generation. Heal our land.   Amen.