Aim Them In The Right Direction (1)

Train up a child... in keeping with his individual gift or bent.
Proverbs 22:6

As a parent, you either accelerate or stifle your child's giftedness. They will spend much of their life benefiting from, or recovering from, your influence. "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." That doesn't mean "If I put my children on the right path, they'll never leave it." No, salvation is the work of God (1 Corinthians 3:6). So what does this passage teach us? To view your child as a book - not to be written, but to be read.
The Amplified Bible reads, "Train up a child in the way he should go [and in keeping with his individual gift or bent], and when he is old he will not depart from it." Note the word "bent." You hold the bow, your child is the arrow. Aim him (or her) "in the way he should go." God prewired your infant. He preprogrammed your toddler's strengths. He set your teen on a trajectory. God gave you an 18-year research project. Ask yourself, "What sets this child apart?" Childhood tendencies forecast adult abilities. Read them. Discern them. Affirm them. Encourage them.
Look at Joseph. At 17 he saw dreams and envisioned himself as a leader (Genesis 37:2-10). As an adult he interpreted the dreams of Pharaoh and led the nation (Genesis 40 - 41). As a boy David displayed two strengths: fighting and music. He killed a lion and a bear (1 Samuel 17:34-37) and played skillfully on the harp (1 Samuel 16:16-18). And what two activities dominated his adult years? Fighting and music. Think about it!