The list was simple and one word announced its contents: Supplies. What a twelve year-old needed in the first week of summer that involved a trip to the drug store, is beyond me. Indeed, the list was short, all he needed was ten rolls of tape and roughly 15 packages of index cards. After a quick trip to Walgreen's and laying the contents out on the family room floor, he surveyed his supplies and set to work. One by one, buildings began to appear with somewhat sturdy sides and taped together neatly at the hinges. When he was asked later what those buildings were supposed to be, he responded in detail and patiently answered each question that his befuddled family asked of him. Although I'll probably never understand why he built the index card city, I'm thankful I understand my son's bent. Proverbs 22:6 tells us to, "Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it." For many years, I misinterpreted this verse, often thinking that if I continually exposed my children to Christianity, they would not leave the freedom of Christ's love and enslave themselves to something infinitely less holy. When my oldest son became a teenager, I noticed a change in his demeanor. As if a switch had been flipped on, the boy who once thought I could do no wrong came to the startling conclusion that his mother was ignorant. In other words, my son entered the realm of rebellion. He questioned my authority and steadfastly refused to believe that some things should be taken at face value. "Because I said so" was a phrase that made his skin crawl and he began to demand good reasons as to why he should do chores, clean his room and bathe on a daily basis. To the average parent, the reasons are crystal clear; we know that the benefits of chores results in smooth-running households and that they allow the performer of such duties to contribute to the family's well being. We know that clean rooms offer children an obstacle-free path to safety in case the house catches fire. And lastly, we know that good hygiene can prevent loved ones from running in the opposite direction when we enter a room. With a Christian upbringing, one would think that these particular behaviors would not affect our children, yet rebellion is as common among Christian teens as it is to non-believing teens. Does this mean that Proverbs 22:6 isn't true? If you believed like I did, then yes. Raising your young man or young woman in a Christian home alone will not prevent him or her from departing from the faith at some point in their lives. However, once Proverbs 22:6 is investigated further, we find that the verse has a much more powerful meaning and can make all the difference in the world to parents and children everywhere. In my next entry, I'll explain why it's important to identify your child's bent.