Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise: “That it may be well with you and you many live long on the earth.” (Ephesians 6:1-3)

Training Children

There is very little that has changed since the world began. It is easy to assume each generation has become more civilized, and while progress always changes with greater inventions, the core element of human nature remains the same. Consider the wise man who noted, “Children today are tyrants. They contradict their parents, they gobble their food, and they terrorize their teachers.” This saying would be (in many ways) a clear mandate for the problems with young people today. However, the quote was made by Socrates more than two thousand years ago.

Man changes little. The problems parents faced in the earliest part of human history remain the same challenges parents face in the modern world. There are no magic solutions to the ills of society. Each generation tries to reinvent the philosophical wheel of wisdom to solve the societal problems of family, morality, faith, and hope. An endless supply of books is authored by the educated elite who believe they have found the answers to life’s problems. They always fail.

Children have the same needs today as they needed in the time of Socrates. He was born four hundred years before Christ and became a Greek philosopher from Athens, Greece. Parents in the Greek world faced all the trials of raising children as any parent has done. Adam and Eve faced the challenge of raising godly children. God provided the answers. King David had more than twenty children. The Law of Moses gave instructions on training young minds. The apostle Peter had children who were taught the gospel of Christ. In 1492, parents had the Bible to understand how to cultivate the minds of their children.

The gospel of God has remained unchanged since the beginning of time. From Cain, the firstborn child of the world, to the modern-day challenges parents face, the Lord has given the same message of godliness to guide the home. Children need direction; the best answers are found in the book by the One who created them. The Bible is not an outdated book because its message remains the same. Children need to know God and how to follow His will so they can find true happiness and worth. There is no greater knowledge your child will discover than knowing God.

Parenting is a challenge that is not for the faint of heart. There is only one opportunity a parent has to guide the minds of their youth, and there are no do-overs. God has given us a blueprint to teach our children about God. What children need today is the same message God has always given. Let the Bible be your guide to give your children something that will change their lives. A child without God is a child lost in the world. Let them learn about Jesus and how much He loves them. You can find happiness in the home and your marriage when you train your family in the way of the Lord.