Proverbs 22:6

Did God fail?

It seems many here are assuming that a parent can perfectly train up a child.

I believe that all Proverbs are just that. They are proverbs.
That being said, they are TRUE proverbs.

The biggest problem I am seeing here is that it seems people on both sides are thinking that parents are living up to this verse when I don't think that is ever completely true.

 

Will you be flying soon? The way you interpret verses out of their historical context then you must declare that Is. 40:31 promises you will fly if you wait for God. You wil run and never get tired. Does that verse mean you are the best marathoner in the world too?

Is. 40:31, "Yet those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.

 

Ecclesiastes 10:12 The words of a wise man's mouth are gracious; but the lips of a fool will swallow up himself.

 

Proverbs 17:10, "A rebuke goes deeper into one who has understanding than a hundred blows into a fool."

Proverbs 27:5, "Better is open rebuke than love that is concealed."

Ecccl. 7:5, "It is better to listen to the rebuke of a wise man than for one to listen to the song of fools."

 

I'm witnessing an interesting use of Proverbs, whether from the book of Proverbs or wherever they might be.

 

What it boils down to is people do not believe the Word of God anymore. They do not want to face the reality that there are consequences for every wrong action... whether by an adult, or by a child.

When the Word of God says something will happen as a result of an action, you can take that to the bank. It will happen.

 

So then what happened to the church in the 60s... did the parents not raise them up right?

IF what you claim is true, that it is a specific truth, and not a general truth, then no child raised in a Christian home will go to Hell.

Sounds R. Catholic to me.

Everyone is responsibility for their own salvation. That is why it is personal.

 

Everyone is responsible for their own salvation. But parents are responsible for their children's upbringing.

Train them in the way they should go... the parent is to point them to the Lord. If the parent does their job as prescribed, the child will not depart from that training.

 

So any child that goes to Hell, the parent can rest assured that it is their fault?

Hmmmm...

What a twisted theology.

 

You can infer that the Word of God lied in Proverbs 22:6 if you wish, or anywhere else, I am not that brave to call God's Word a lie.

 

It's a general truth.. . Generally speaking, it will happen, but not everytime...

That is why it is a Proverb.

 

Ann,

I ignored your question before because of the foolishness of it, but apparently you are not going to stop asking it.

God did not raise Adam and Eve. He created them as adults.

As to Scripture where God held parents responsible for their children who had gone astray...

Yes, there is. Eli was held responsible for his sons sins.

 

The verse does not say 'it might happen,' Tim.

If it does not happen every time, then Proverbs 22:6 is a lie.

 

nevermind, your mind is made up...

It is a pro---verb... not an absolute.

 

tim,

If you do not believe Proverbs as being the Word of God, rip them out of your Bible.

They were written under inspiration of the Holy Spirit though, and they are true.

God said if they are trained in the way they should go they will not depart. But hey, tim apparently knows better than God when it comes to His Word.

 

By your refusal to call Proverbs what they are, you have made God's word out to be what it is not. You have refused to interpet scripture in light of its historical context. Not every statement in scripture is a promise. Some are general statements such a Proverbs and others are very specific. Each passage and book must be interpreted in light of its historical context. Words have no meaning outside of context.

Proverbs 1:1, 6; 31:1, tells one what Proverbs is all about and where they came from. Proverbs are compiled short pithy sayings written down. Promises never fail but proverbs are general wise waying that most of the time work. If a child's failure to walk with God could always be traced back to the parent then Freud would love you.

Just read through Proverbs and compare that to James and 1 Peter. People are killed for their faith. Sometimes those who walk with God have their life cut short not days added. Compare Proverbs 1:33 to reality of the martyrs.

 

If the parents tell their child not to run in front of a truck or he will get hit and the child runs in front of that truck anyway...and does get hit....whose fault is it? The parents or the child?

Parents are commanded to "train up a child in the way he should go" (the way of the Lord). There are commands for children as well as for their parents:

Ephesians 6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.
Ephesians 6:2 Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise; )
Ephesians 6:3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.
Ephesians 6:4 And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

There's a promise for the children when they obey their parents just as there is a promise for the parents when they "train up a child in the way he should go" and "bring them up in the admonition and the nurture of the Lord".

In my own personal experience in raising two boys, as a single mother, I didn't always do the right thing and made mistakes...but I made every effort to train them up in the way of the Lord. Both of them chose different paths, but they both remember what they were taught because they have told me so.

Not departing from it (the way of the Lord) doesn't always mean salvation, or that your children will stay on the straight and narrow path, but IMO, it implies bringing to remembrance the way of the Lord which was taught by the parents.

 

Here's the text:

"Train a child in the way that he should go,

and when he is old he will not turn from it."

Hasn't experience taught us that godly parents are not responsible for the ultimate choices of their children?

The children of godly parents turn out to be rebels. Did the parents fail? I don't think so.

How then should we understand a faithful gospel preacher, coming from a broken home, where his father was an alcoholic, yet a faithful man of God and fully committed to his family and ministry?