The 6 year old Victoria’s Secret Model

On a recent television program, the interviewer met with children who wanted to be Hollywood stars.

One little girl who had just turned 6 stated that her aspiration was to be a Victoria’s Secret model so she could make lots of money and buy lots of stuff and then people would love her. When the mother was interviewed, she agreed that the goal of her 6 year old daughter to model half clothed was a wise and moral choice of careers. Mom was every bit as enamored as her daughter about having lots of money so she could buy lots of stuff and then people would love both of them.

Surely this scenario cannot end well.

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.”

As parents, we have the greatest influence over our children. If we think that money and possessions are the ultimate goal of life, so will they. If we think that a lifestyle full of things will cause people to love us, so will they.

Our thoughts influence their thoughts and we can influence them toward the holy and moral or we can influence them toward the secular and worldly.

We can teach our children to love people or to love things. We can teach them to honor God or the almighty dollar. We can help them see there is a better way or help them follow the path of the world.

How we train them now, determines in a large part their thoughts and attitudes when they are adults. Our children can be taught to love things and use people or to love people and use things.

It’s up to us to train them in the way they should go because when they are old they will not depart from it.