×
NewsDay

AMH is an independent media house free from political ties or outside influence. We have four newspapers: The Zimbabwe Independent, a business weekly published every Friday, The Standard, a weekly published every Sunday, and Southern and NewsDay, our daily newspapers. Each has an online edition.

Teaching our children wisdom

Opinion & Analysis
We are living in a generation full of learned or educated people, men and women, but who lack wisdom.

We are living in a generation full of learned or educated people, men and women, but who lack wisdom.

Relationships: Kilton Moyo

I have been looking around for a university, college, school or pre-school that teaches wisdom as a subject and I have found none.

I do not want to jump into conclusions, but I would want to think and believe this is the reason the world is full of educated embeciles, who cannot tell right from wrong.

There is serious lack of wisdom in the world today and maybe it is because we are not teaching it. We are not teaching it because we do not have it or value it.

Unless, we value wisdom, we are bound to suffer many things that we were never meant to suffer. I want to believe that families should teach or train their children in wisdom.

King Solomon writes about the value of wisdom. “If you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.” Proverbs 2:4-6.

The encouragement is to seek wisdom as diligently as we search for hidden treasures. In this generation we seek after so many things and shun wisdom and forget that wisdom created all the things we are searching for.

When we ignore wisdom, we then embrace foolishness and this is no wonder why the world is in such a mess yet with so many educated people, leaders, fathers and mothers.

The family continues to suffer many things despite the fact that it is led by highly-educated parents who, however, lack wisdom and understanding. It is my belief that we need to search and seek wisdom as a generation of parents, so we can teach and train our children in wisdom so they can escape the pitfalls we fell into because we lacked wisdom.

Proverbs 23: 24 says that the father of the righteous will greatly rejoice and he who begets a wise child will delight in him. You can sire a wise child, but the truth of the matter is you will have to make a wise son as father or parent.

Many parents these days are not glad or rejoicing in their children because we have not taken it upon ourselves to train them up in wisdom. We expect the world to do so. We expect education to do so, but education lacks the fundamentals of wisdom and that is why it produces criminals and corrupt people.

Producing wise children should, therefore, be a deliberate family or parental undertaking, so we can be glad in our children.

In a world like ours, normal and wise parents desire to see their children survive and make it. Wise parents commit to helping their children progress and not sink with the world.

To do this, we cannot rely on school or academic education only, but we need to deliberately train in wisdom.

This means that we need to acquire wisdom ourselves as parents to know how to parent in these last days.

You will agree with me that there is so much foolishness in the world today. Educated people are the worst. See the character of our educated sons and daughters. Look at the things that they value in life. It is sad to say the least.

Maybe you are asking me how best we can train in wisdom. Let me suggest a few things.

Encourage children in the fear God

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

You cannot get wisdom outside the Lord. The world’s wisdom is short of God and is not lasting and is lustful. Everything starts with God.

You lose nothing, but benefit all when you encourage your children in the Lord. I am not talking about going to church. This is not enough.

I am talking about teaching them to have a personal relationship with Christ. This is foundational, more so in these last days.

You do not want to partake in the destruction of your child as a parent. To avoid this, point them to Christ. From there wisdom begins and orders their lives.

Encourage children to have their personal values

In this life everything you do is based on your personal values. What does your child stand for in this life? This is very important. Anyone without their values and their lives entrenched on their values is bound to become anything or everything the wind blows them towards. There are many young people, well meaning in life, but standing for nothing and just believing any wind.

For children to have their values it must begin at home. I believe that one of the biggest values every child or every family must incalculate in their children is a character that is gospel-shaped.

Listen to me my fellow parents, the enemy is out to mislead our offspring and trap them into his deadly schemes, which look learned and exciting.

We just need to be wise and make our children wise too. The devil is moving around like a roaring lion seeking whom to devour.

His schemes are attractive. His schemes are wrapped in gold and glitter of the world. His schemes look educated and civilised. His schemes are wrapped in human rights, success, prosperity, an independent spirit, self-actualisation and many other concepts that really appear innocent.

It will take wisdom and the leading of the Holy Spirit for this generation to discern the tricks here. Maybe as parents we need just to be deliberate in producing wise children. You do not want to regret as a parent.

We are now getting into the Easter season; we are available for your marriage coaching seminars should you need our services. Also check our calendar to see what we have in store for you during this period.

Kilton Moyo is creator of Fruitful Marriages, a renewal and enrichment programme and is pastor, counsellor and author of Marriage Fitness. Call or WhatsApp on +263 775 337 207, +263 772 610 103 or [email protected]