Teach Them to Hide

by John Thomas

We don't want to live in fear. We don't want our children to live in fear. We don't want to worry about our children, because they live in fear. We don't need to become reclusive, but Proverbs tells us that there is a good time to hide. Proverbs 22:3 " A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished." We should be on the lookout for evil and avoid it at all costs. We shouldn't even poke our heads out to see what it looks like. We should hide from it! The simple minded man ignores that evil is evil and is punished by it! It is always dangerous to think we can be a part of the world without it rubbing off on us. Too many times we might think something's just "a little off color," or it's "not too bad, " or "everybody from church is doing it. " We should never justify what we do by the actions of another person. The idea that it's O.K. to look as long as I don't touch, is flirting with evil. Proverbs 22:3 tells us a prudent man will foresee the evil and hide!
Now, what about our children? Read down three more verses and we are told to teach our children; told to train our children how and where to walk. We are to show them the way. We should teach them about the snares of evil and how to avoid them! Show them the best way to walk, and when they are older, we won't have to worry about them nearly as much. Teach your children to hide from evil, and not to flirt with it!