the duties of parents: #1

What does this old guy here have to say to a bunch of twenty-first century moms about raising their kids?

Plenty, as it turns out! I know. I was surprised, too. :)

This is a photo of J.C. (John Charles) Ryle, who lived from 1818 to 1900.  He was educated at Eton and Christ Church in Oxford, and played cricket for Oxford.  His degree was in Modern Greats, and he was headed toward a career in politics before heading, instead, toward ordained ministry.

He was a parish vicar for 38 years, became the leader of the evangelical party of the Church of England, and at age 64 became the first bishop of Liverpool.  (His second son, Herbert Edward Ryle, went to Cambridge as a classical scholar, and also became a C. of E. bishop. Herbert was also Queen Victoria's Honorary Chaplain.)

J.C. Ryle was known for being a very straightforward preacher, and is best known for his plain yet very lively writings on different Christian themes.  He was also known for being gracious and warm in his personal relations, and always had the goal in his Christian ministry of encouraging strong and serious Christian living.

In his little book (a treatise, really) called The Duties of Parents, J.C. outlines and discusses seventeen different duties of Christian parents.

Here is Duty #1:

First, then, if you would train your children rightly, train them in the way they should go, and not in the way they would.

The underlying Biblical truth behind this parental duty that Ryle gives us is that left to their own devices, children will make foolish, sinful decisions. Proverbs 22:15 says "Folly is bound up in the heart of a child," and Proverbs 29:15 says "A child left to himself brings shame to his mother."  

Dealing wisely with our children means that we don't let them call all the shots and be left to the guidance of their own wills.

Ryle exhorts:

... for pity's sake, give him not up to his own wayward tastes and inclination ... You do not let him decide what he shall eat ... Be consistent, and deal with his mind in the like manner. Train him in the way that is scriptural and right, and not in the way he fancies.

And then Ryle says:

If you cannot make up your mind to this first principle of Christian training, it is useless for you to read any further.

And that's true. :)