“Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.”                  Proverbs 22:6 NKJV

Our children are living out what God has entrusted us to properly put in place. They are born to learn and they thrive on training. Notice, according to this scripture, it is our job to prepare them for their path in life. Again, the word “training” is important.

In the Hebrew language of Proverbs the word training means, “to narrow or throttle.” It is talking about imparting discipline by narrowing the options a child has to choose from. This design is exactly opposite to what many “children’s experts” teach today, often advocating wider approaches to training to allow exposure to a mind boggling array of options.

Freedom is a truly a wonderful thing, even for a child, but experience teaches us that it is even better when a foundation of discipline is put in place first. This is what Solomon’s wisdom is passing on here in the Bible. Parents don’t always have multiple lifestyle options at their disposal, what they have to give is themselves. However, any of us can open future horizons to our kids if we use what we have to train them properly today. We do that by imparting our discipline to them. We must mold them in the ways of God, Who holds all their options, by teaching them to restrain themselves according to godly guidelines. Show your children how to read the Bible and pray. Be a follower of Jesus in front of them. Create a living example of how an ordinary but sincere person approaches God in humility and confidence. Let them see you waiting on the Lord patiently, trusting Him until the answer comes.

If you know God, He will reveal your child’s gifts, and you will receive the wisdom you need to help them go forward in His plans. You won’t be afraid to restrain the carnal tendencies in them to allow for the release of God’s Spirit of liberty!

Throttling is the best thing you can ever do for your child. It will teach them to throttle themselves and by doing so, accelerate their favor with God and man. In the end, it will call to them from within and keep them ready for Jesus’ return!