Walk of Life – Day 19 – Thoughts from the Book of Proverbs – Be Diligent
Be Diligent to Chasten thy Child
Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying. Proverbs 19:18
We are today in a materialistic world. When we were young, we knew the struggle that our parents went through in bringing us up and in nurturing us. Today, everything is taken for granted. Children practically do not know what it is to suffer or to struggle. They want everything that they ask for instantly. When I see some people’s lifestyles, I wonder what we are teaching our children.
Our children need to know that all that they have is someone’s hard work. We were taught not to waste food. I remember in church, when we used to sit for love feast, the aunties used to tell us every grain of rice you waste, you are losing one blessing. The plate should be clean, throwing food, wasting food was unacceptable and a crime…to say the least. However, today its strange how much food is wasted. Do we tell our children about all those poor kids with no access to food or water. They are so choosy about everything. It is very important to teach at a very early age the importance of valuing food and the hard work of all those farmers who labor day and night in the fields to bring that food to our tables.
Do not give a child too much of luxury even if you can afford it. They need to learn to value everything that they have. Once they study in the most posh schools, they begin comparing with children of millionaires and get frustrated that their parents cannot afford them the same luxury. Stay humble always. All the riches you acquired is only from the Lord…riches will fly away in a moment. Please teach children that being rich is not everything in life. The love and care in a home, the umpteen things that money cannot buy, the fear of God, the love of God, the fellowship of God’s people mean more than all the riches in this world. I fear we have lost that attitude. With so many prosperity preachers around, we need to remember that we suffer no lack, we receive all that we need but not necessarily all that we want!
Integrity, honesty, and simplicity is the best way of life. We can teach that to our children only if we live that way. We pay bribes and get college seats, we use influence to get our children jobs and then we speak to them about being honest. Your life is an open book that your children read. Be diligent what you write on every page…you can never undo it. Today when we correct children and our walk is not in line with our talk, they question us. We need to live Christ-like lives so that we can imbibe those values in our children.
Chasten them while there is hope. It is so wonderful that all that Moses learnt about the God of His fathers was when he was with Jochebed in those first few years of his life. This mother knew she was sending her son to be an Egyptian prince but she taught him what to choose. She taught Him about the greatness of the God of Israel. She would have told him the story of Joseph and how he made the right choices. She ensured that she molded that little heart to love the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. She knew he would be made to worship the Egyptian gods but she taught him the right way. That’s why he chose to suffer affliction with the people of God and not long for the riches of Egypt. Those seeds sown by his mother bore fruit and she had molded a leader who would bring out a nation from bondage.
We need to chasten and correct our children and teach them the right way to walk in. At the same time, we need to show Christ in and through our lives.
