Proverbs 22:6 Start children off on the way they should go,
    and even when they are old they will not turn from it.

This is a very famous verse, and it is true throughout history. However, our understanding of it is often deficient. Don and Katie Fortune, teaching on Motivational Gifts from Romans 12, stressed that the Hebrew specifies “the way appropriate for him,” not just the way his parents think he should go. I’m happy to say that the Japanese expressly translates it that way. The point the Fortunes made was that since everyone is gifted differently, what is appropriate for one person might not be appropriate for another. That is something wise parents realize fairly early on, but some never accept it. No two human beings are identical. That is part of the beauty of God’s creation. Since each person is unique, they have a unique contribution to make to the people around them, and indeed, to society as a whole. Those in a guidance capacity, explicitly including parents, need to seek God’s wisdom and guidance in how to train (or educate, as the Japanese puts it) the young people (including their children) in their care. We overlook this point to our peril. In America, leftists, in a deliberate strategy, have virtually taken over our educational system. The result has been legions of young people with little experience in rational thought, protesting rather than progressing, and in general, generating chaos. That is tragic. It has been said countless times, but it can’t be overstated, that young people need to be trained in how to think, rather than indoctrinated in what to think. When we have been properly educated and trained appropriately to our gifting, then we are indeed equipped to lead successful, productive lives for as long as we are on this earth.

I have been an educator most of my life, being paid for it for over half my life. That was appropriate for me, since I have Teacher gifting. My parents did their best to train and educate me, laying down a firm foundation of the knowledge of God and faith in Him. My deviations from faithful obedience to God have all been my fault, not theirs! Raising my own children, I didn’t understand divergent gifting until they were teenagers, but thankfully they were both still at home when I learned about motivational gifts, and we understood our children much better from that point. Family friction went down greatly! As a formal educator and as a pastor, my performance has been a mixed bag. With school classes, the opportunities for individualized instruction are limited, but that can’t be said of a small church, and I have dropped the ball far too many times. A major weakness of Teacher gifting is the subconscious feeling that just getting the truth out there should be sufficient, and it very seldom is. That isn’t education, much less training; it’s just announcing. I need to ask and allow God to show me how to relate to each person in my sphere, so that His truth may be communicated in love in ways they can receive it, to be set free from the lies of the devil and walk in all that God desires for them.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for all You’re doing in and around me. Thank You for enabling me to get that article written yesterday. I pray that it would be the blessing You want it to be. There are many things piling up in the schedule for this month. Help me do each thing in turn, not procrastinating, so that all of Your purposes may be accomplished on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!