Train up a child

I’ve been thinking about several parenting Proverbs recently as I’m trying to do my best to raise my boys in the training and admonition of the Lord (Eph. 6:4). Specifically, I’ve been thinking about Proverbs 22:6:

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

On the surface, this truth is quite simple: if we train the child up as he should walk in the Lord, he will continue living his life correctly. But if taken as an absolute and looking at the converse of the statement we see that if a child departs from the way they should go, they were not trained up correctly. I believe Proverbs are truths, but cannot be taken as absolutes because there are other circumstances that factor in. As I endeavor to “train up” my children, I just pray to God the influence I have today will preserve them for a lifetime in the Lord.