son’s car. To his credit, he did manage to get many of the things right when working on the project. However, upon returning the engine to the car and starting the engine, disaster struck. Though he should have realized that having leftover engine parts was a clear omen that his enterprise would fail, due to his lack of knowledge, he did not. Engines don’t run well without bearings, which were among the leftover parts. We may be tempted to guffaw at this amateur mechanic’s result. But, the truth is that all of us lack knowledge in a myriad of ways, including that required to mentor our sons and daughters in the Christian faith. Never is it wise to feign having knowledge or wisdom as we go about such mentoring. Such pride can lead to missteps, blunders of far greater import than failed engine rebuilds, as they involve loved ones and their spiritual lives. Overcoming a lack of knowledge involves honesty. That requires our going humbly before God and asking Him to reveal to us what knowledge we possess and that we are lacking. When He does so, we then, in faith, should ask Him to grant to us that we are lacking and the wisdom to use all of it. Having done so, we can rest assured that “God, who gives
to all men liberally and without reproach,” will grant our request (James 1:5, NKJ). Of course, we do not want to limit God as to the specifics or time line of how He answers our petition. Doing so may involve our attending meetings or seminars hosted by those with expertise related to parenting and/or studying their materials. It may also include our being led to do studies in scripture related to the topic of parenting. If we are to overcome our lack of knowledge, whatever the Holy Spirit leads us to do, we must be willing to do it. When we lack knowledge, there are some things we should not do. We should not allow ourselves to be conformed to the ideologies, manners of thinking, and philosophies of the world related to child rearing that are contradictory to God’s ways, as revealed in His word (Rom. 12:2). Too often, this happens related to our choice of educational systems for our sons and daughters. Many Christian parents have tragically discovered that the schools they chose for their children, though they may have provided acceptable academic instruction, undermined their spiritual foundations, and were instrumental in them eventually departing from the
faith. This is especially true related to college. Parents should scrutinize the ideologies embraced and espoused by the prospective colleges their sons and daughters are considering. Why? For one reason, because it is naïve for them to believe that universities, with atmospheres oppositional, often in a hostile manner, to biblical worldviews and those who embrace such perspectives, will enhance their child’s spiritual growth. What more often occurs is that such schools play a significant role in negating spiritual growth and prove instrumental in our children rejecting the Christian views they were raised with. Too often, parents, instead of checking out the philosophical and ideological underpinnings of prospective universities, make choices based on other factors (i.e. a family member or friend went there, the college’s prestige is considered with no thought toward the spiritual atmosphere there, etc.). It should come as no surprise, when we send out sons and daughters to colleges oppositional to the Christian faith, that they often end up departing from it. Understanding that the atmospheres of the educational environments we choose or help to choose for our children are integral to