Proverbs 22:6

It was my turn to give the devotion for our Upwords Basketball League today.  I gave the same devotion 4 times at the half time of each game.  I proudly donned my Nebraska Cornhuskers 2009 season Coaches Shirt (black).  It was only the second set of games that we had so there had only been one other devotion given.

I decided to go with Proverbs 22:6.  It went something like this:

Proverbs 22:6 tells us to "train up a child in the way they should go and when they are old they will not depart from it."  We don't really have to much trouble with the first part of that.  It makes sense.  We know that kids need to be trained.  We have all seen kids that live around our neighborhood that need to be trained.  We understand that we need to help our kids understand how to function in this world and be successful in life.

But the verse doesn't stop there.  What about "in the way that they should go?"  I have a friend by the name of Dave.  When he was in his 40's his junior-high aged son loved football.  He went out for football but he was very small.  Most smaller kids are fast.  Well Dave's son was really small and slow.  Those do not make for a good football player.  Dave encouraged his son to try wrestling.  He didn't really want to, but Dave got him to try.  His son ended being a state champion wrestler when he was in high school.  Had he stayed with football and not tried wrestling he would have never tasted that gold medal feeling.  His dad "trained him in the way that he should go."

All kids have been given talents by God to be extraordinary.  Each kid is full of God-given potential.  As parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and friends - are we helping train kids in the way that is best for them?  We need to help them find their strengths and help them see how God has uniquely made them.