Importance of training
A father and his child are enjoying a delightful day at the park, walking hand in hand along the windingpaths lined with tall trees and vibrant green grass. They’re having a blast playing ball in the open field,their laughter filling the air. From a distance, you can see the sunlight streaming through the trees, bathingthem in a golden glow. It’s a scene bursting with happiness and wonder, almost like something out of abeautiful impressionist painting. The child dashed toward the tree to retrieve the ball that had disappeared beneath its branches.Meanwhile, the dad took a moment to look around, slowly exhaling into the breeze of the park. Then heturned his attention back to the kid peeking out from under the tree. Suddenly, he exclaimed, “Hey!” “Get down!!!!” His eyes widened in shock at the sharp command from his father. “Get down right now!!!” Confused but, the child quickly dropped to the ground, just as his father commanded. The father, keepinga fixed gaze from afar, then slowly bent down. In a soothing tone, he began to speak softly, reassuring thechild. “Now… crawl… slowly… to Dad… don’t look, just focus on Dad, slowly… that’s it.” The child crawled slowly toward the father, who knelt down and moved gently in the child’s direction. Asthe child emerged from under the tree, the father’s face lit up with relief. He swiftly scooped the little oneup in his arms and carefully pulled him away from the tree. With a deep sigh of relief, Dad tenderly pattedthe child’s back. “I really scared you, didn’t I? Okay, good job, but now look over there.” He pointed toward the tree where the child had been playing, and as the child, still cradled in his father’sarms, turned his head, his eyes widened in terror. There, hanging ominously from the very branch he hadbeen under, was a venomous snake, its body draped halfway across the spot where the child had beenplaying. The horrifying realization dawned on the child: that’s why his father had yelled so urgently for himto get down. The end. And just like that, the story has a happy ending. Let’s take a moment to calm our racing hearts and ask ourselves a realistic question: is a happy endinglike this possible in reality? Did you notice anything unusual and unrealistic in the middle of the story? Thevenomous snake? No, that part is quite plausible. The unrealistic element, in my opinion, lies elsewhere.To me, it was the child’s reaction to his father’s instruction that seemed a bit too far-fetched.Consider our reality for a moment. If a father shouted at his child, “Get down!” how would most children inthis generation likely react? Probably with a defiant: “Why?” or “Why should I?” Their brows furrowed and their voices filled with frustration. This reaction is all too plausible and realistic,yet deeply concerning. The thought of what might follow is unsettling, and a happy ending seemsimprobable. Children are incredibly honest and tend to act the same way whether they’re at home or out and about,repeating their home habits wherever they are. While the story above might seem overly dramatic, thecore lesson is clear: if we diligently train our children at home, we can guide them in the right directionwhen it really counts. The story above illustrates two contrasting examples of upbringing. The former child is well-trained, notthrough rigid drills, but through learning to trust and obey his father’s instructions unconditionally. On theother hand, the latter child hasn’t received any form of guidance and thus always seeks a reason orexcuses to disobey. Why is this important? In our modern era, teaching children unconditional obedience may seem outdated.While there are indeed moments when parents should explain in detail and persuade them so that theywill obey voluntarily, there are also critical times when children need to obey unconditionally without anyreason or excuse. That’s exactly the kind of training we need to give them. If children only followinstructions when they understand and agree with them, it fosters a mindset of living by their ownwill(stubbornness) rather than discernment of God’s will for their lives. It’s frightening to think that withoutlearning unconditional obedience, individuals might reject God’s will at critical moments, making choicesbased on their own sinful desires. And in doing so, they’ll miss out on many blessings of God, and thatreally hurts our hearts as their parents, whether they deserve it or not. When a child is still young under our care, parents take on the role of representing (projecting the imageof) God to some extent. Children, whether consciously or not, learn to interact with God through theirinteractions with their parents. In this context, it’s improbable that a child who disobeys their parents willreadily obey God. A child who grows up habitually disobeying parental instructions that don’t make senseto them may develop the dangerous habit that it’s acceptable to ignore God’s will when it doesn’t makesense to them. The results of such a life’s habit is severe. God’s love is persistent, and He works toaddress and rectify such habits, even into adulthood (Hebrews 12:5-6). Have you ever considered what the true opposite of obedience might be? While disobedience is theobvious answer, there’s a more eloquent term that encapsulates it better. In the context ofhomeschooling, which I plan to explore in a future series, we define the opposite of obedience as “stubbornness.” The Bible recounts how the Israelites exhibited stubbornness during their time in the wilderness (Hebrews3:7-8, GNT). In contrast, Jesus achieved perfection by overcoming His own stubbornness and submittingto His Father’s will (Hebrews 5:8-9, GNT). A stubborn child cannot learn to obey God, and that stubbornness leads to poor choices in life. If parentstruly love their children, they should train them to break their own stubbornness so that they can fullyenjoy the blessings God has given them. But here’s a practical question for parents. Stubbornness in children can be really frustrating. So, howexactly can we train our children to not be stubborn and instead learn to be obedient? Let’s explore some examples. We can start this training when