On Life at Home

eign culture. It’s definitely not
the one I grew up in, but it’s the
only one he knows. Like the
sports commentators, on radio
and TV, frequently use words
that were banned in polite company
a few decades ago, but are
now nonchalantly tossed about
like the sports figures they talk
about. In fact, there are very few
words that are out of bounds
these days. The ones that are,
are freely used in our children’s
world of YouTube, X-Box, and
social media. There must be a
better response after hearing
them, than my automatic diatribe
and letting my blood boil.
Of course, I’ve known parents
with more extreme reactions.
Those who never bat an eye
and just want to be cool parents.
On the other extreme are those
who are so draconian that even
I flinch.
Parenting magazines are fine,
as far as they go. Typically, offering
insightful tips that might work
for some, but not others, reflecting
the latest whim or psychological
method of the day, that will
soon find its way out of vogue
about as quickly as it came in.
But, the Bible is also a treasure
trove about how to raise a child,
and I’ve found it just as relevant
today as the day it was the day it
was written.
Consider Deuteronomy 6:5-9:
“You shall love the Lord your
God with all your heart and with
all your soul and with all your
might. 6 And these words that
I command you today shall be
on your heart. 7 You shall teach
them diligently to your children,
and shall talk of them when you
sit in your house, and when you
walk by the way, and when you
lie down, and when you rise. 8
You shall bind them as a sign on
your hand, and they shall be as
frontlets between your eyes. 9
You shall write them on the doorposts
of your house and on your
gates”
Early in the history of Israel, God
commanded them to teach their
children the words, which He
taught them. In today’s society
teachers have become professionalized.
Public school teachers
go through rigorous training
and certifications to be qualified
to teach our children. Perhaps
that image of a teacher, as a
trained professional, has tainted
our role and leads us to think
we’re not qualified.
Many parents have expressed
feeling too intimidated to teach
God’s Word—some are still
learning themselves—so we
might leave teaching to the
Sunday school teacher. Of
course, we are already teaching
our children, so we need to be
more diligent and at times learn
along with our children. Professional
educators often say that
parents are a students’ first
teachers. With the help of toys
that kids are exposed to, most
know their alphabet, how to
count, colors, shapes and sizes
long before pre-school. The
simple fact is: We are teachers
whether we realize of it or not,
or whether we want to be or not,
somebody’s watching you.
There are a lot of strong words
in verse 7. These words are
speaking of intentional teaching
and addressing both parents as
well as the community—in our
case, the Christian Church—a
whole lot more than teaching the
alphabet is going on here in this
verse.
To teach them diligently carries
the mental picture of it being
inscribed, or etched on their
hearts. Like a sharp tool—a
wood burning tool if you will—
searing into the grain a permanent
message that will weather
the test of time. Or, an engraver
with a hammer and chisel etching
into metal or marble something
that will last forever is in
mind here. Perhaps this was the
understanding of Proverbs 22: 6
“Train up a child in the way he
should go: and when he is old,
he will not depart from it.”
This type of training would certainly
have lasting effects.
Let’s zoom out and get an even
wider angle on this, and think
about the context. God is laying
the foundation for an infant
nation. He’s preparing and preserving
a “…people holy to the
LORD…chosen…for his treasured
possession, out of all the
peoples who are on the face of
the earth…” (Deuteronomy 7:6)
for Himself and for the purpose
of ushering in the King of kings,
and Lord of lords, who will make
the Savior known to all nations.
Yes, we are far removed from
this ancient Jewish beginning.
But the New Testament inextricably
ties us to this verse in 1
Peter 2:9, and it’s no less important
for Christian parents and the
Christian Church, “But you are a
chosen race, a royal priesthood,
a holy nation, a people for his
own possession, that you may
proclaim the excellencies of him