Four Things Every Child Needs

Daniel 1:17

As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.

Training our children for life is never an easy task. Every child has a unique personality and temperament, and many times, trying to figure out how to get through to them what is essential is very difficult. However, we find with the four children in the book of Daniel that God shows four things every child needs to learn in life if they will succeed in all that they do.

The first thing every child needs to learn in life is knowledge. It is vital that you make sure your children receive a good education. Many times, parents are too relaxed in this area of education, where they need to be very stringent with their children about keeping up with their studies. As a parent, you need to know how your children are doing in school. This is one reason I do not believe it is good for children to go to public schools. Public school education is more of an indoctrination of liberal ideology than a tool for acquiring knowledge they will use in life. Whatever you do, be sure your children get their homework done, and apply themselves in the learning process of knowledge, because while their minds are young and absorbent, that is the time to get knowledge that they can use as a tool to serve God the remainder of their lives.

The second thing children need to learn is life skills. These four children in the book of Daniel were skilled, and that is what allowed them to go further in life. I believe that every child needs to learn a skill that they can use if they cannot serve God full-time. What I mean by this is that even though a child may surrender to full-time service and may one day become a pastor, there are times when a pastor has to be bi-vocational to be able to pay his bills. Learning a skill will be something a child can use the rest of their lives to be able to generate income when the economy is tight.

The third thing every child needs to learn is wisdom. No child will ever learn wisdom without the Word of God. Likewise, no child will ever have wisdom without application of knowledge. You need to be sure your children have opportunities to apply the knowledge they learned through skills and knowledge. Wisdom is applying what you have learned in knowledge and skills, even though you don't understand how it works. Do not let your children sit at home and play or do nothing, but teach them to apply their knowledge and skills with projects around the house.

The fourth thing every child needs to learn is to be godly no matter what they face in life. These four children learned to stand for God, even when it meant they might suffer for their stand. Godliness is the greatest trait every child must learn in life, and they will only learn that trait from parents who live a godly life. If your children have knowledge, skill, and wisdom, but they don't have godlessness, they will use their knowledge, skill, and wisdom to live for the world, and that will break your heart. The best way to teach your children godliness is for you to be godly, and if you are godly, they will have an example of what a godly life is and how to live it, no matter what the cost may be. If you want your children to bring joy to your life, now is the time to teach them godliness. Your children are learning from you, and the one trait you want them to learn from you is how to live a godly life.