Step Eight: Train Them to Think Wisely
"Dad, how do you know which way is right?" my young daughter asked as we looked through a National Geographic magazine, scanning an article about evolution. Her question is significant, isn't it? Where do we go for answers? How do we know which way is right? To answer such questions for themselves, people must know how to think things through. But is such thinking an inherent trait? No. In large part, right thinking must be learned. So how does the next generation learn to think for themselves rather than be guided by the latest trends? As parents, how do we give them a compass for life’s direction?
We are in an election season. Our children will hear many different ideas and statements by the candidates throughout the coming months. Much of what they hear will be contradictory and confusing. How do they know which is right and which is wrong? How do we teach them to consider such things and thoughtfully arrive at their own conclusions?
In one of the final scenes of the third Indiana Jones movie, the hero has finally made it to the cave containing the chalice supposedly used by Christ in the last supper. As he looks at the stone table, he sees dozens of chalices to choose from. Drinking from the correct chalice will extend life. Drinking from any of the other chalices will cause immediate death. Standing in the cave is an old crusader assigned to guard the chalices. Before Indiana Jones chooses his chalice, the old warrior gives him great advice: "Choose wisely."
One of the most significant areas of parental training is the development of wisdom—raising a child to choose wisely. The writer of Proverbs urged his child to choose with wisdom. In fact, the entire book of Proverbs is a lesson from a parent to a child on making wise choices in life.
The greatest lesson a parent can teach a child is the ability and discipline to make wise choices. Wisdom gives a child the ability to guard his heart (Proverbs 4:23) - to choose with wisdom, not emotion and lust. Without that training, a child or adult will be easily seduced by marketers and tempters. Without the ability to guard his heart, a child won't be able to push straight past the temptations and reach the special goals God has planned for him. Many young people have made unwise choices, left their heart unguarded, and ended up marrying the wrong person.
Obviously, the center point of parent training in this area is to help children learn to think intelligently rather than culturally, and how to discern with wisdom rather than think like the crowd.
Where does wisdom come from? Do we learn wisdom from academics, sports, or music? Do we learn wisdom from entertainment or all the other things we spend so much of our time on? No. If we make decisions based on these factors, our children will learn to seek the world’s view of wisdom. Proverbs tells us that true wisdom comes from God and the Bible. Scripture admonishes that those who are trained without a knowledge and access to wisdom grow up severely handicapped.
After acknowledging where wisdom comes from, the next step in teaching your children to think wisely is to begin training them in godly wisdom. If wisdom comes from God, then it would behoove parents to set the example of turning to the Bible for answers themselves. Use the Bible as the discussion point at one family meal or moment a day. Talk about issues and teach your children how to go to the Bible for all their answers, big and small.
As we enter into this election year, use the campaign issues as an opportunity to teach your children how to reference the Bible for answers. It doesn’t matter what well-meaning people say on a particular issue, even if they are your favorite candidates. Instead, what does God say? Wisdom is the ability to reference God for answers.
The family that is willing to take the time to find God’s opinion on every issue is the family that will raise up leaders God will use in answering questions for others in the future. These children will also grow up learning to question the latest trends and cultural turns. They will be able to stay on the path God has for them because they learned to access God’s roadmap for wise living.
In the first chapter of Joshua, God told this new leader to be very careful to stay on the path and not veer to the right or to the left. Joshua was leading people into a new, pagan environment. They needed to stay on the path of thinking wisely in order to receive the blessings God had promised them. Perhaps the most significant training we can give our children is how to process every intellectual exercise or decision through the opinion of the One who created our intellect.
Without this training, a child is set adrift in life without a guiding instrument. He or she lacks the wisdom to reach the plans God has in store. The absence of wise thinking in childhood creates an adult who can't think for him- or herself and becomes vulnerable to the temptations of the world. This step of the parent’s training curriculum is important because it teaches a child how to think rather than leaving them to follow the crowd. Train your child to choose wisely!