Don’t spend all your energy on sex and all your money on women; they have destroyed kings. Listen, Lemuel. Kings should not drink wine or have a craving for alcohol. When they drink, they forget the laws and ignore the rights of people in need.
Proverbs 31:3-5 GNT
Hindsight is 20/20.
Looking back over my life, I wish that I had taught my sons the Proverbs when they were young. When our kids are young, we forget that we are raising husbands and wives, not just sons and daughters. We are told to train them up in the way that they should go and the promise is that they won’t depart. There are times in their lives that they will take a wrong turn, but as we continue to pray for them, Jesus leads them back.
I believe that we should teach our sons to be celibate, and not focus on sex. My sister and I were taught to be celibate until marriage, but my brother was not. Boys were encouraged to ‘sow their wild oats’ instead. It has been my observation that when you stay celibate until marriage, it makes the marriage bond stronger.
We should also teach our sons to not crave alcohol or drugs because they have been set apart by God. In verse 2, this mother said that this was her own dear son and the son that she prayed for. She named him Lemuel which means “one from God or belonging to God.” She gave him a name that set him apart and a name for him to live up to. She taught him everything that he needed to know in order to be a great King.
We must teach our sons to not be physically and mentally dependent on sex, drugs or alcohol, then God will allow them to find that wife that is found in Proverbs 31:10-31. Then our families will be functional and not dysfunctional.
Prayer: Lord, thank You for giving us sons and daughters. Lord, we give them back to You and we promise to teach and train them by our very lifestyles how to follow You by studying Your Word and being Your bondservants. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Twanda B Smith says
Amen Tammy!!! We give our sons and daughters back to God.
Veronica White says
The wisdom from this devotional is so powerful, and I am so thankful that the teaching we do give to our children and the prayers we lift up for their sake draws them back toward God when they fall a bit off track. This study has been a gift that we definitely should pass on and encourage families with children to invest time in together.
Debbie says
This is great. We need not have double standards we it comes to our sons and daughters.
Michael J. says
Talk ma’am. Thank you for a helpful word, one to be practiced daily.
Reginald Porter says
Amen, Sister!
Vernon Hubbard says
Amen, let’s start afresh and anew in preparing the this and the next generation of sons and daughters to practice the Book of Proverbs. #TheAnswerIsInTheVerbs
Phillis says
You said it all so well. We need to pass it on to our grandchildren as well as young people we come in contact with. Remember we are the village. Thanks Tammy.