Dedicate A Child

INTRO

This is lesson 110. You know what that means? There have been 110 days straight of wisdom literature. I hope people are feeling wise after this. So far, in the book of Proverbs, we’ve discussed talking too much, choosing the right wife, and taking the right path. Proverbs is made up of golden nuggets of truth. My hope is that you can take these verses and apply them to your lives in a helpful way.

TEACHING

Proverbs 22:1: Having a good name is better than having a ton of money. What we are talking about is reputation. You could have all the money in the world and be considered a terrible person. No one wants to be that person.

Proverbs 22:2: If you’re rich, God made you. If you’re poor, God made you. We have to be careful not to show favoritism (James 3). Nelson’s Commentary concludes, “This means that those who favor the rich over the poor (James 2), have not only missed the point of creation, they have insulted the Creator.”¹

Proverbs 22:3: A sensible person is someone who is prudent or shrewd. A sensible person takes cover when in danger. The inexperienced keep going, showing no wisdom.

Proverbs 22:4: This verse is a cool picture of a good life: humility, wealth, honor, and life.

Proverbs 22:5: If you take a crooked path there is bound to be trouble and pain.

Proverbs 22:6: “Teach a youth about the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” As I teach through this passage I am thinking of my kids. The word teach can also be translated as the word train. The word for teach/train occurs three other times in the Bible. Nelson’s Commentary explains, “The word “to train” (or teach) is a term related to the familiar festival name, ‘Hanukkah,’ from the Hebrew for ‘dedication.’ . . . This is the principal parental task, to receive children as a charge from the Lord, who are then to be dedicated to the way of God in their lives.”² (Deuteronomy 20:5; 1 Kings 8:63; 2 Chronicles 7:5)

This teaching and training in Scripture represents dedication.

Jason DeRouchie from Bethlehem College and Seminary wrote, “‘Train up’ may, therefore, be too weak of a translation and miss the potential element of consecration to religious and moral direction.”³ We need to set apart what we are doing. This dedication includes a ceremony. DeRouchie continued:

“Proverbs suggest that the act of dedicating in Proverbs 22:6 is focused more on an intentional, sustained, God dependent shepherding of our children’s hearts as they grow into adulthood—one in which the children themselves are aware of the parent’s trajectory-setting intentions. This is not a passive calling for dads and moms.”⁴

This dedication is an ongoing process. I want my kids to understand that I want to walk them through the process of growing up walking with the Lord, and I want to do it every day. This is not an easy task, especially when we get frustrated and lose patience with our kids. There is more to dedicating your kids than having a ceremony during a service and then hoping Sunday school will supply them with the spiritual knowledge they need.

Children are a reward from God (Psalm 127:3). Our children are blessings. When do kids stop being kids and become adults? Your children will always be your kids, even when they hit adulthood. Share the truth with them daily whether they want to hear it or not (Leviticus 25:18; Deuteronomy 6:7–9; 12:28). For examples look at the relationships of Hannah and Samuel, Joseph and Jesus, Abraham and Isaac, and finally Eunice and Timothy. There is value to holding these truths in our hearts in order to teach them to a younger generation. It can be hard to teach and impart knowledge if the truth is not in us. It is important to teach our children that there are two choices in life—the way of wisdom and life or the way of folly and death.

Part of teaching our children involves discipline (Proverbs 3:12; 29:15, 17; Hebrews 12:5–6, 10). DeRouchie wrote, “When left to themselves, the ‘young’ lack judgment and have hearts filled with foolishness.”⁵ Why is discipline necessary? The young are lacking sense (Proverbs 7:7). DeRouchie went on to write, “Without discipline the young bring disgrace on their parents.”⁶ It is important to correct behavior and allow kids to face their consequences (Proverbs 29:15). We have to walk out this process of discipline. We want our kids dedicated to the Lord so that they will not depart from the Him. We must pour into our children every day, not just when they are young.

This is hard; all of my kids have responded differently to the gospel. They have all accepted Christ, but they are all in their own different stages. There could be a day they turn against the Lord, I don’t see that happening, but what if they did? Steven Cole wrote, “Hurting parents must demonstrate God’s love and forgiveness to their children.”⁷ Here are a few points Cole made about the story about the prodigal son—the son who left his family wealthy and prideful but eventually came back home humble and wise (Luke 15:11–32). Cole points out:

1. “The father was hurting.”⁸

• “There was pain of rejection, humiliation, and guilt.”⁹ These are all things people deal with.

“The father was loving and ready to forgive.”¹⁰

The father’s love: “He relinquished without rejection, had deep concern, had heartfelt compassion, outward affection, unaffected humility, underserved generosity, and undeserved acceptance”

If you don’t have these things, why on earth would a child want to come back?

The father’s forgiveness: “His forgiveness was immediate, total, forgotten, costly, restorative, not the guilt-blame approach, and was active forgiveness, not passive.”¹¹

CLOSING

It is important to pour into the younger generation. For some of us we need to look no further than our family. For others we should seek out those in need of guidance. You don’t have to have a perfect family. No matter what craziness you experience with your family day to day there is never an excuse to not teach, dedicate, and pour into your children. When we are constantly pouring into our family, then we can trust the word of God to come into fruition.