Nurture them

“To help grow or develop” is one definition of the word nurture. A person could argue that this word captures the idea behind Paul’s words in Ephesians 6. “And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.”

Merged with all the other principles God gives for raising kids, parents must do some teaching and instructing. Yet, out of fear of indoctrination many parents have left their children to their own way. But Paul curtails the chance of indoctrination by prefacing his instructions for parents to instruct by telling fathers to watch how they teach their children. Don’t force and pressure. Do it out of love. Don’t push. Lift.

The scare of indoctrination is real. When speaking of indoctrination, it is meant that someone is forced or coerced, brainwashed if you will, to believe a certain thing. Nonetheless, it has nothing to do with what is taught. It has to do with how it’s taught. Parents have scared, belittled and manipulated their children into certain teachings. Paul encourages Christians to avoid such tactics.

Nurture better describes the approach Christian families should embrace when teaching God’s truth.