Chapter 31: What Are You Teaching Your Children?
“The words of king Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him.” Proverbs 31:1
The last chapter here in Proverbs is a good chapter. It covers a couple different areas in life. It covers the area of drinking and why you shouldn’t drink. It also covers a virtuous woman and the qualities that she has.
Although there are good verses in this chapter that we could discuss at length, I want to look at the first verse.
In this verse we see that King Lemuel is writing here. He is writing what his mother taught him. In the majority of Proverbs we see a father instructing his son on the ways of life, in the last chapter we see a son sharing what his mother taught him as a child and teenager.
Parents, it is important that we teach our children. We need to teach them about God, about right and wrong. We need to teach them how to make good and wise choices in life. We need to instruct our children in not just the basics but also instruct them in why we believe the way we believe.
I like that Lemuel had an opportunity to write a chapter in the Bible and he used it to write about the lessons his mother had taught him. Hey parent, if your child was given the same opportunity what lessons could they share with us? That is a sobering thought. I know I’m young in the parenting stage of life but I hope I can teach my children lasting lessons that they would be willing to share with others.
Whenever I am asked to speak about my parents or what lessons I have learned from them, I don’t have to think hard or try to come with something. The two greatest lessons my parents taught me are hard work and faithfulness. They didn’t just tell me about hard work and explain to me what faithfulness was, they lived and practiced it every day in their lives.
This generation has a lot of children that are being raised by what they watch on tv, social media, their friends, the music they listen to; few children are getting the instruction that they need in their life from their parents. Don’t let someone else raise your child, parent! Step up and teach and instruct them, and let your actions back up your instruction!
So as we finish out the book of Proverbs, parent ask yourself, “What am I teaching my child?”
Teach your child something that one day they will be proud to pass along to someone else.
Counted Faithful 