TEACH THEM TO STUDY
MEMORISE: Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. Proverbs 4:7
READ: Proverbs 4:7 -9
7 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.
8 Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her.
9 She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.
MESSAGE
Psalm 127:3 says that children are the heritage of the Lord; in other words, they belong to the Lord and we are only their caretakers. It is important then that as a caretaker, you take good care of what has been placed in your hands. You must teach your children not to be fools, or else, you would have failed as a parent. Our memory verse today describes wisdom as the ‘principal thing’ and then proceeds to instruct us to obtain it along with understanding. This implies that wisdom must be sought, hence the call to teach our children and wards to seek it.
Teach your children that wisdom is greater than strength (Ecclesiastes 9:16). Since wisdom is the correct application of knowledge, you must teach them to study and acquire knowledge. Don’t let your children spend all day watching television and playing games. They must study; nobody becomes great without studying. It is how hard you have studied that will determine how high you will go. As a teacher at Ondo Boys’ High School in 1963, I was asked to teach 35 periods. There was another teacher in the school who was a graduate but was only teaching 21 periods yet earning 4 times as much as I was. In spite of this, he was still grumbling. I said to him, “Sir, I am teaching 35 periods, you are teaching 21, yet you are receiving four times my salary and you are still complaining”. He drew me close and patted me on the head, then said, “My boy, you don’t understand; I am being paid for what I have already done”.
That was the day I decided that I would go to University, no matter the cost.
It doesn’t matter how a child starts, it doesn’t matter how poor the parents are; if that child studies and works hard, he or she will stand with kings. If you don’t believe me, find a way to read about my background and then compare it to where I am today. I pray for your children: they will not end up as failures in Jesus’ name. you however, have a part to play for that prayer to be answered; you must teach them to study. You may say, “Oh, it doesn’t matter if they study or not, I am already preparing their inheritance; they will never lack anything”. You had better not fool yourself. Only a wise child can manage resources correctly. I pray that your children will not destroy your legacy when you are gone, in Jesus’ name.
ACTION POINT
Remove everything around your children that distract them from studying and create a schedule that will ensure they study more than they play.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Psalms 5-8
HYMN 20: ONWARD CHRISTIAN SOLDIERS
1. Onward, Christian soldiers! Marching as to war, With the cross of Jesus Going on before. Christ, the royal Master, Leads against the foe; Forward into battle, See his banners go!
[Chorus] Onward, Christian soldiers! Marching as to war, With the cross of Jesus Going on before.
2. At the sign of triumph Satan’s host doth flee; On, then, Christian soldiers, On to victory. Hell’s foundations quiver At the shout of praise; Brothers, lift your voices, Loud your anthems raise.
3. Like a mighty army Moves the Church of God; Brothers, we are treading Where the Saints have trod. We are not divided; All one body we: One in hope and doctrine, One in charity.
4. Onward, then, ye people; Join our happy throng. Blend with ours your voices In the triumph song: Glory, laud, and honor Unto Christ, the King. This through countless ages Men and angels sing.
