Before your child becomes a teenager he or she must be taught what it means to fear God if you want to increase the likelihood that they will come to truly trust Christ as Savior and Lord. This is not to say that one cannot learn to fear God after they reach the teen years. But statistics prove that the older we get the rate of conversion decreases.

Solomon spends ample time and energy in both Proverbs and Ecclesiastes instructing his child concerning the critical importance of the fear of God. It is the very foundation of the first nine chapters of Proverbs that were written to his young son, thus the title of the book, Teaching Them Young: The Hidden Treasures Of The Proverbs. Here is a sampling:

Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

Proverbs 1:29-32 Since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the Lord, since they would not accept my advice and spurned my rebuke, they will eat the fruit of their ways and be filled with the fruit of their schemes. For the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them;

Proverbs 2:5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.

Proverbs 3:7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil.

Proverbs 8:13 To fear the Lord is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech.

Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

Proverbs 10:27 The fear of the Lord adds length to life, but the years of the wicked are cut short.

Proverbs 14:26 He who fears the Lord has a secure fortress, and for his children it will be a refuge.

Proverbs 14:27 The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, turning a man from the snares of death.

Proverbs 15:16 Better a little with the fear of the Lord than great wealth with turmoil.

Proverbs 16:6 Through love and faithfulness sin is atoned for; through the fear of the Lord a man avoids evil.

Proverbs 19:23 The fear of the Lord leads to life: Then one rests content, untouched by trouble.

Proverbs 22:4 Humility and the fear of the Lord bring wealth and honor and life.

Proverbs 23:17 Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the Lord.

Proverbs 24:21 Fear the Lord and the king, my son, and do not join with the rebellious,

Ecclesiastes 3:14 I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him.

Ecclesiastes 5:7 Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore stand in awe of God.

Ecclesiastes 8:12 Although a wicked man commits a hundred crimes and still lives a long time, I know that it will go better with God-fearing men, who are reverent before God.

Ecclesiastes 12:13 Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.

In the first chapter of Teaching Them Young: The Hidden Treasures Of The Proverbs this foundation for successful parenting is developed. I think you will find it very sound and practical.

In His Grip,
Pastor Betters

My new book, based on my sermon series by the same title, will be released hopefully in mid-March. Each week until then I want to introduce you to the message of this book. In this blog I will consider the basic premise of the book, that is, the Book of the Proverbs was written for the purpose of raising children to become men and women who know, love, and fear God. In the first nine chapters, specific core principles are outlined for kids to learn before they reach the age of thirteen; thus, the title of the book - Teaching Them Young: The Hidden Treasures of The Proverbs.

There are a variety of words in Hebrew that parallel their English equivalents. In English, we speak of infants, toddlers, pre-adolescents, teenagers, and adults. There are similar Hebrew words throughout the Book of Proverbs. Specifically, in the first nine chapters of Proverbs, Solomon, the author of most of the Proverbs, uses the word for the pre-teen. In Hebrew tradition, a child was expected to memorize scripture and certain core principles before he or she became a teenager. By the time he was eighteen, he was expected to learn a trade and be ready to enter adulthood.

So what are the core principles a pre-teen must learn? They are spelled out in the first nine chapters of Proverbs and are the focus of Teaching Them Young. Each chapter contains a key parenting principle rooted in one of the first nine chapters of Proverbs, a pointed story illustrating the principle, a scriptural analysis of the principle (there are loads of scriptures in this book), and practical teaching tools to help you apply the principle to your pre-teen. Over the next few weeks prior to publication I will take you on a little journey through these chapters. Have you visited the web site for this book - www.teachingthemyoung.com? There you can preorder your copy. It would make a great gift for young mothers and young dads on Mother's Day and Father's Day. Here are the titles of the chapters.

Teaching Them Young Chapter Titles

Introduction

1. The Fear of God and a Bucket Load of God-Esteem
   
2. Raising a Spiritual Dropout
   
3. The Myth of the Greener Grass
   
4. How the Mighty are Fallen
   
5. Is Your Child a Darth Vader?
   
6. Raising Kids who Stand Out in the Crowd
   
7. Your Child's Spiritual Birth Line
   
8. The Octagonal Gospel
   
9. Teach Your Children to Love the Church
   
10. Pearls, Pigs, Scorners and Mockers
    

Send me your parenting questions and I'll try to answer them in future posts.

In His Grip,
Pastor Betters