Train up a child in the way he should go

Are there parents that:
have been positive roll models to their children
have given their child much love and support
have provided a safe home for their child
yet their child still rebels and is overtaken by drug addiction? The answer is yes.

There is a verse in the bible that many quote, yet they overlook five very important words contained in that verse:

Proverbs 22:6

Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

We gloss over "and when he is old", and key into the "he will not depart from it " portion.

There is a time in the life of our children between childhood and old age in which they very likely will rebel and be led astray to some extent, they may depart from the right way, even IF you raise that child well.

But based upon how this verse is worded it shows me that we have a promise from God. Even though rebellion will come, sometime during this phase of youth and old age, the soundness and godly morals that we as their parents instilled in them will return to them and win out in the end.

You train him or her in the right way, and when he is old, that right raising will stick with him!

It won't leave him!

The teen years are never easy on any parent. During these turbulent years, our children are a handful. But don't get so worn down by these years that you throw up your hands and take a pause on training them in the ways of the Lord. Don't let them do "their own thing" so easily. We have to allow them to grow up and take responsibility WHILE we are watching over them. This is what God has given us to do as their parents.

This tells me that our efforts to train our children in the right ways - The ways of the Lord - are never in vain, they are never useless. We and our children will be tested and tried in this journey of life, but his word and truth will never come back lacking or useless no matter what our current situation is.