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Child rearing is not an easy task. It sounds like it’s getting more and more complicated with each generation. As new parents we often turn to our own parents or others whom we respect for advice on how to raise our young ones. There are such good examples of great parenting in the Bible. Just think of Hannah with Samuel or Lois and Eunice with young Timothy.
One person I have never considered as a good role model for parenting was King David. This tempestuous man is often used as an example of what not to do. His family life was less than ideal to say the least. However, Proverbs chapter 4 reveals that David did have a lasting influence on his son, Solomon, in a very important way.
We are all familiar with Solomon’s choice requesting wisdom from God over all other things he could have requested. In Proverbs 4:3-9 we discover that this desire for godly wisdom was instilled in Solomon in his childhood. “When I was my father’s son, tender and the only one in the sight of my mother, he also taught me and said to me: ‘Let your heart retain my words; keep my commands and life. Get wisdom! Get understanding! … Wisdom is the principle thing: Therefore get wisdom …” David taught Solomon from his own intensity to love God and to seek wisdom from Him. When the day came for Solomon to have his own one-on-one encounter with God, he was ready with the proper response: wisdom!
Lord, I am so often a failure in my own eyes as a parent. I do things or neglect to do things which are not what I had wanted to do to my children. My prayer, Father, is that somehow in the midst of my failures and bumbling attempts at parenthood, you will use me to instill godly longings and desires in the hearts of my children. Help me teach my children from the intensity of my own walk with God. One day, when they have their own one-on-one encounters with God, they too will be ready with tender hearts reaching for Heaven.
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