"Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord" (Eph. 6:4).
After considering these words of Paul, I wrote the following lines as part of a hymn.
O father, mother, listen well,
And Scripture will the secret tell:
To keep them from a bitter heart,
Instruct your children from the start
In the Commandments and the Creed
And in the Prayer for ev'ry need.
"Commandments," "Creed," and "Prayer" refer to the Ten Commandments, the Apostles' Creed, and the Lord's Prayer. They are the first three things in Luther's Small Catechism and the most fundamental. Children should hear these three things from the time they are born (and even while in the womb).
The Commandments teach them wrong and right, and how to identify sin. The Creed teaches them everything they need to know about God, especially the forgiveness of sins. And the Prayer teaches them what to say to God in every situation.
Parents, do your duty. Love your children by teaching them what will last their whole lives and into eternity!
