Raising Wise Children

25 the task of teaching and warning their children. Parents are responsible for passing wisdom on to their children. In the days of Moses, the commandment was given by God to His people, “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you” (Exodus 20:12, NIV). The cross generational understanding of this commandment is seen to be applicable to God’s people of today as well. The Apostle Paul wrote, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ‘Honor your father and mother’— which is the first commandment with a promise— that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth. Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:1-4, NIV). Paul, making application of the Gospel message for Jewish and Gentile believers alike, says that parents, especially fathers, owe their children nurture that extends beyond mere physical sustenance. Instead parents are to nurture their