Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me (Ezekiel 3:17).
I am not in any way comparing myself or my spiritual calling to that of the Old Testament prophet Ezekiel. And as a further observation, I am far from the perfect parent; I have made my share of mistakes as a father and as a Christian. With that said, a combination of my own life experiences while growing up and the past nine years as an adjunct at various community colleges and four-year universities has let me to understand how important it is that Christian parents “get it right” when preparing their children for adulthood.
Earlier this morning I was checking my email and found that a former student of mine had sent an email asking me for some academic and personal advice. As an adjunct, I cannot formally advise students about their academic career but do offer advice on how to make the most of even the most difficult class. As far as the personal advice, I do offer it with the understanding that I am coming from a Christian perspective and for the most part, when I tell a student that, it opens the door for them to ask more questions about my faith. Almost all the students that ask me either for personal advice or to discuss issues of faith were not prepared by their parents to face adulthood; some come from homes a lot like what I grew up in while others come from what they described as a “Christian” home.
One of the most important things that parents do for their children is to Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it, as written by Solomon (Proverbs 22:6). Nearly ten years ago and while attending a church revival meeting at a small country Baptist church in southeastern Missouri, I heard a preacher twho opened my eyes to the extent it has changed forever my understanding of this verse. he discussed how parents have given this responsibility – without any reservation – to the lost world! Unfortunately, he is right.
As Solomon put it, training up a child is about preparing the child for adulthood. It is about teaching them to not only how to work and to be productive, but know themselves, know their relationship with God, and to understand their relationship with others. Yes, traditional education, which is geared for productivity and work has been yielded to public institutions to the extent that a majority of parents no longer feel obligated to have an active role in preparing their child for adulthood. No longer are parents teaching their children a work ethic, occupational skills, religious teachings, or even reaffirmation of academic teachings – it has all been left to the realm of “public education.”
We see the results of this after nearly thirty years of abandonment of this important parental responsibility. We have families that no longer resemble what God had planned, one in two marriages ending in divorce and children in homes with one parent or even being raised by grandparents, churches across our nation closing their doors for the last time, and souls not being reached for Jesus. I can tell you that although many of my 18 to 25 year old college students have been raised in a spiritual vacuum, a few are asking questions about God, faith, and how to fit the belief in God into a “science driven” world. Yes, there are a few who are hungry to learn about God so they can be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you [them] a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear (I Peter 3:15).
