Train Up vs Train Down

 

Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. Prov.22:6.

If our children see us putting other things ahead of God, they will become discouraged and disillusioned, like a young Jewish boy, Karl, who once lived in Germany.

Karl’s father was a successful retailer, and the family practiced their Jewish faith. But then they moved to another city, and the boy’s father announced that they would no longer attend synagogue, no more Sabbath keeping. They were going to join the Lutheran church.

The boy was very surprised and asked his father why the family was joining the Lutheran church. His father’s answer was something like, “For business reasons. There are so many Lutherans in this town that I can make good business contacts at the Lutheran church. It will be good for business.”

That boy, who had a deep interest in religion, became so disillusioned with his father that something died within him. He said to himself, ‘My father has no real convictions.” The incident helped to turn him against religion with a vengeance. That young boy was Karl Marx. He wrote the “Communist Manifesto,” in which he called religion “the opiate of the masses.” His ideas were pushed by Lenin, Stalin, Mao, Kim Il Sung and other communist dictators brining misery and death to millions of people. 

I wonder if world’s modern history would have been different had Karl Marx’s father hadn’t put other things ahead of God.

Our children and grandchildren know whether we love God with all our heart. They see it with every decision we make that minimizes God in favor of another gods. What they want to see is parents with such love and reverence for God that they bring Him into every area of their lives and put Him first in everything.

And by extension, this is not only what our families are looking for, but our neighbors, friends, coworkers… this is what people want to see when they are observing the life of a GC - Genuine Christian.

Are you a GC or a F(ake)C?