Title Teach the way you should go.
Contents
♡♥♡ Teach them the way they should go. / Proverbs 22:6
***Introduction
As our old saying goes, “It is not difficult to have children. It is difficult to raise, it is not difficult to raise, and it is difficult to teach.” There is also a proverb that “the habit of three years old goes up to eighty.” This all speaks to how important the education of young children is.
In an elementary school classroom, during class, the homeroom teacher was very angry and scolded a child. The reason is that the child did not bring crayons to art class. The child did not have the courage to talk about his family's very difficult circumstances. The teacher banged the head of the child who did not respond even after being scolded and shouted.
“Next time, even steal it and bring it!”
Seventeen years later, that child is Kim Ki-hwan, who became the head of a terrifying murder group, the Supreme Sect. He was eventually executed. Kim Ki-hwan's final remarks just before the execution of the death penalty were as follows.
“When I was in elementary school, one word from that teacher changed my life.”
Education is not just about holding a book and teaching knowledge. Rather, life education that sees, hears, and learns in life shows a deeper educational effect. A single angry word from a parent in life can change a child's life.
That is why the text says, “Teach a child in the way he should walk.” Mencius' mother said that she moved three times to educate the young Mencius. So, what can we do for our children and what should we teach them?
1. You need to create an environment.
Environment is very important in education. Like Mencius' mother, the area and living environment are also important, such as around markets, cemeteries, and Seodang. That is why entertainment establishments and factories are not allowed around schools in big cities. Parents are also eager to find a good area to send their children to.
What would the children do if parents were in a hurry to cross the road while holding their children's hands and telling their children that they had to cross over the overpass? What is engraved in the minds of children is preceded by the example of life rather than the theory. Piano academy, tutoring academy, taekwondo, art, kindergarten, gifted school, foreign language academy, etc. We send our children to countless academies. However, if the parents do not see them reading a book, praying, or reading the Bible, the children themselves will have a hard time learning and they will quickly become adults and try to escape. Therefore, what parents set an example in life will be the best educational environment for children.
2. Teach them how to fish.
We cannot follow the children and teach them one by one, or entrust them to a school, hagwon, or other educational organization so that they can receive all education. The education that parents should do for their children is not to teach the details, but to teach the direction and the way. In other words, you should teach them how to fish, not give them a fish.
When Jesus taught his disciples, he did not teach them to do this in this case and that in the other. Although it takes time to learn on their own, and even if they experience failure at times, you put effort into teaching them the direction and path they should take. The direction and way we should teach our children is the will of God and the word of God. Ephesians 6:4 says, “And fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”
As we well know, the people with the lowest juvenile crime rates in the world are Jews. The Jewish people have wandered the world as a nomadic people for thousands of years. Even today, the Jewish people are scattered all over the world. At the same time, the Jewish tradition, monotheistic beliefs, and the history of the Jews remain unchanged.
Because they have their own way. The first thing Jews do when a child is born is to listen to the word of God. Deuteronomy 6:4-9 is what is called the Shema. Every Jewish household contains a shema in a small leather box. The word ‘shema’ means ‘the word of God’. The core of these verses is, 'God is our God, and always be with and serve God.'
These Jewish teachings point the way for them. They serve the one and only God and live their lives toward the one and only Jerusalem temple in the world. This is called ‘Zionism’.
What we must teach is God's will and God's Word. Teach children why they should fear God, and teach them that God's Word is the true truth and that it is the way of life to follow.
In the book The Hurried Child: Growing up too fast too soon, an American bestseller, author Dr. Elkind says:
“Children live in a sense of frustration and failure, which is the epicenter of anger and anger because modern parents take their children on express trains and drive them too fast. Parents' impatience to learn quickly and become adults quickly, excessive expectations for children and urging for success, and demands for determination and determination even though they are still immature. develop,” he said.
That's why God said, 'Do not provoke your children.' They teach the right direction and way of life, but parents must lead by example and teach with patience over time.
Why? Because children are not ours, they are all God's. However, God sent them through the couple and asked them to raise them. Therefore, if you insist too much on teaching and raising your children in my own way because they are my children, the extreme case of God taking the child can happen.
Today is Children's Day, and May is Family Month. Let's check if our family is standing in the Word of God. And let's think together as a family on the path of faith that entrusts children to the Lord. Therefore, I pray that you will grow into children that please God, and that you will build a beautiful family that supports you to mature into the children that God uses.