Parenting by the Book
STUDY 12
Text: Proverbs 8:13
THE CONCEPT OF “THE FEAR OF THE LORD”
Dear Parents,
THE WORK OF TEACHING OUR CHILDREN
We have yet another reference to “the fear of the LORD”. It is hard to teach any lesson to our children. The principle of “the fear of the LORD” is not a simple or easy concept to teach.
Sometimes, we have to be very creative in the teaching process. Whatever the case, we need to be diligent and faithful in the teaching of our children. Some lessons need to be taught and reinforced again and again. This is one such lesson.
One of the ways in which we can teach our children effectively is to teach them to hide God’s Word in their hearts. We don’t have to teach very hard verses. The verses found in the Book of Proverbs are always kept short and to the point.
Let us be encouraged to teach our children how to “fear the LORD”. If we keep repeating this lesson, in time to come, this principle will become a part of their lives. This principle will guard them from evil. It will also guide them all throughout life.
“THE FEAR OF THE LORD IS TO HATE EVIL” PROVERBS 8:13
One of the effective ways in which we can teach our children how to practise the fear of the Lord is to emphasize “contrast”. How would we know that our children have learned to fear the Lord as they should? They should express their fear of the Lord by “hating evil”.
HOW DO WE DEFINE “EVIL” TO CHILDREN?
It is important that we define things for our children. Every concept must be carefully defined for our children. We dare not leave them to define concepts taught to them. They can end up with very bizarre concepts that could prove detrimental if not downright dangerous. If we were to teach our children that to fear the Lord is to depart from evil, we must expect that they would ask us, “What is evil?”
It is impossible for children to understand abstract concepts. Thus the Book of Proverbs wisely teaches us how we can define “evil” in simple terms.
The fear of the Lord is to hate evil;
Pride and arrogance and the evil way…Proverbs 8:13
Evil can be found in many different disguises. Evil can appear in obvious ways. Children, without much help can discern “the evil way”. However, there are times when evil is more cleverly disguised. “Pride and arrogance” are twins and they are closely associated with “evil”.
Let us be deeply committed to learning how we can teach our children these important lessons. As can be seen, bringing up children is no easy task at all.
Prayerfully,
Pastor Charlie