“Start a youth out on his way; even when he grows old he will not depart from it.” (v. 6)

This is, perhaps, the most frequently cited parental proverb.

What we miss, however, is that there are really two trajectories to “the way.”

You can—and I pray you will—start your kids on a path of worship, of prayer, of togetherness as family and in community. You can start them on a path of responsibility, morality, and integrity. And, if you do (while keeping such a path yourself), they will grow to walk differently in the world.

But if you start them with indulgence, with coddling, and with fear—or if you start them with optional religious participation and no evidence of faithful living—they’ll walk that way, too.

It’s not a matter of which way you might prefer. It’s a matter of which way you will live and lead yourself. You start them on the way—either way—when you walk with them in their earliest years.

So…start them on the better trajectory.

— Tyler