A fool rejects his father’s discipline,
but he who regards reproof is sensible.

Proverbs 15:5

These are some of the saddest verses in Proverbs, maybe in all of Scripture. No parent plans to raise a foolish child who will become a fool of a man or of a woman. When parents bring a baby home they have so many dreams for their child no matter what their race or creed or religion or you name it. Sadly, for many those dreams are dashed and pretty early on. 

A wise son makes his father glad,
but a foolish man despises his mother.

Proverbs 15:20

We learned yesterday that a fool is a fool in his or her heart. And the Bible tells us that “foolishness is bound in the heart of a child.” [Proverbs 22:15] It is part of the sin nature in all of us to be fools. Guidance and correction are needed. I am not going to get into the types of correction, this is not a parental guide book and I am not a child expert by any means, but I am a mom and a grandmother and I continue to see a familiar pattern. Parents must choose wisely and biblically their best practices for training their child to wise and not be a fool.

[NOTE: I am not speaking of disabilities for an individual child in this post. These beautiful children are precious and so very smart and courageous and so are their parents. I have a brother, now 73, with disabilities so I have some experience. But living as a sibling with disabilities in a home is vastly different than walking through life with this special child as a parent. I cannot speak to that.]

But, for the majority of children…here is the thing. In every home…every family…personal character IS practiced by both parents and their children. Every child is precious and unique and beautiful as God’s special creation. And each child practices…everything…all of it…each nuance of life that is within the grasp of their senses and their minds and their hearts. I don’t and you don’t have to be a child expert to know this. 

And I believe that one major contributing factor in moving a child from foolishness to wisdom is fortitude and A LOT of IT and FOR A LONG TIME! We don’t use the word fortitude much today, but it is a great word for any parental playbook! Parenting is the ultimate marathon and you and I, as godly parents must be relentless in our own moral, wise, and godly fortitude! To be successful parents must have endurance, stamina, resolve, courage, strength, tenacity, etc… because Satan and the world wants to wear us down to the point of giving up on our precious children.

A foolish son is destruction to his father…

Proverbs 19:13a

“Let the school turn them around.”

“The church should be the ones teaching them all this Bible stuff.”

We cannot relinquish our responsibility as fathers and mothers. And, even then, as capable as we have tried to be and as dedicated as we are to our kids; little children grow up to be adults, whether they want to or not [Think Peter Pan]. They will have to face the consequences of their decisions or for their lack of making any decisions. And they may prove themselves to be fools. Our hearts will break, as the verses today so vividly describe. And, so, we get on our knees and pray because as we learned yesterday, only God can change the heart of a fool. 

But that is exactly what God is in the business of doing…Changing Hearts! Keep praying Mom! Keep praying Dad! God is not finished with your child!