Children will believe what they are taught. Someone is influencing your children. Either it will be truth or lies from the world. Here are some practical things to teach your children.
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Because we work in a children’s ministry, teach teens, and are involved in a college-age ministry, I have a very great burden for kids and teenagers. The god of this world system is attacking teenagers from every direction. Things that used to be off-limits are now he norm; things that used to be unheard of in church youth groups are now open prayer requests. A recent conversation I had with my aunt, who is working with teenagers, has deepened my burden to the next generation.
These kids are growing up in a society that is lost and confused. For far too long our teenagers have been taught that love is sex, that alcohol is an escape from their problems, that drugs are fun and normal, that they have no purpose in life, and now that biology can’t even be seen as truth. I look at society today and am terrified of what my kids will have put in front of them ten to twenty years from now.
Here’s the problem—where’s the solution? There is no instant cure or a magic pill. But I sincerely think that our kids need heavy doses of truth in their lives. We need to daily be engrossing them in truth from Scripture.
While it would be impossible to cover absolutely everything, there are a few keys truths I believe our kids desperately need.
1. The Bible is true and should be our answer to everything. If we don’t treat the Bible like a daily necessity, then why would our kids go to it for answers. Sometimes I truly believe that our lack of thirst for Scripture is what turns kids away from the Bible. This cannot be something we use every now and again, or even not at all. Our need for a vibrant walk with God, and daily meditation on His Word is more important today than ever before. Young people are looking for answers, and we MUST have answers for them. But those answers need to come from Scripture. I can take you through for instance after for instance of reasoning with students and realizing they have very little knowledge of what the Bible actually says about topics prevalent in our world today. Sometimes it shocks me how little my students know of Scripture. One of my favorite things in literature is “who said it,” where we compare quotes of literary men and of the Bible. You’d be surprised how many they have no idea on. The Bible is unchanged. The Bible has to be our lifeline if our kids have any hope of going to it for their questions and needs.
2. There is right and there is wrong. I grew up in what I think was the last part of the age of hail and brimstone preaching. While this is not as prevalent today, we still need to teach our children that conviction is a reality we face as sinners. We SHOULD feel conviction from the Holy Spirit daily because we sin daily. If we don’t, then there is something between us and the Lord because He is holy, and desires us to be holy. His spirit should be constantly wooing us to a closer, deeper relationship with Himself. My aunt was discussing a conference she went to where the teenage girls seemed cold to the worship service going on. Their body language showed they had no interest. The speaker gave a very convicting message on sin. She even told them she wanted to them feel the weight of their sin and sit under conviction of their sin. She gave an invitation for the girls to come forward to deal with their sin. My aunt said to herself that there was no way any of them would go forward. She sat in disbelief when hundreds of them went forward. Many times kids don’t hear about how ugly and destructive their sin is. They are used to motivational speaking instead of receiving biblical instruction about how a Christian ought to talk and act. How will they ever know unless they are lovingly instructed.
3. They are loved and accepted by their Heavenly Father. I have to be honest— this is so vital to this generation. But it also must be done in the right way. God is never accepting of sin or wrong doing, but He has unconditional love for each sinner. God is very clear in Scripture that as His child, I am loved, accepted, adopted, thought of, cared for, and a part of a much greater plan. Sometimes our kids and teenagers put so much pressure on themselves to earn love. I think this comes from a culture that doesn’t know or understand what love is. By the world’s standards love is earned. Even sometimes love from a parent seems to be conditional on behavior. If you do everything a parent wants you to do, he is happy so therefore he loves you more. Or if you please a boyfriend/girlfriend, they will show you love. That is not how God’s love works. Something that is very important for each Christian to know is that a relationship with Jesus Christ is not a ladder system where they can earn more love and acceptance as they move up some perceived ladder of holiness. There is nothing they can do or not do that will give them more or less love from God.
4. Choices have consequences—good and bad. I think these days, kids don’t always realize that there are legitimate consequences for the choices they make. I can’t tell you how many times in class I hear, “That isn’t fair; he was ……” And many times I think to myself, no matter what someone else does, there are still consequences for the things each individual decides to do. Again, God’s love doesn’t change, but your usefulness to Him sure can. Let’s say you completely ruin your testimony in a situation by blowing your top at someone. God will lovingly show you grace and woo you back to right fellowship with Him. But that person may never see you in the same light again. Your sin caused a break in fellowship with another person (saved or not). A teenager makes a poor choice that gets him into a heap of trouble, and it doesn’t all just magically disappear. There are consequences. But on the flip side, there are wonderful blessings for doing right too. The Bible says that you can’t even give a cup of water away and God not see it and know it. Every right choice we make allows us blessings and influence. Sometimes sin gets glorified while right living gets trampled on. I have no regret for not ever drinking. It has saved me trouble that many others face. I have no regret being pure before my marriage because it has done nothing but strengthen the bond between my husband and me. Right living is a good thing. Making good choices is a good thing. It doesn’t make anyone better than anyone else, or more loved by God, but it can sure keep someone from a heap of bad consequences.
5. They have a purpose in life. So many people wander through life without purpose. It amazes me that the new age for “adolescence” has risen to the age of 30. Instead of kids growing up faster, there is actually a trend for young adults to stay young, unattached, immature, and reckless. Why is this? Because they feel like they have no purpose. There is no reason to grow up and take responsibility. Instead of moving out of Mom and Dad’s, they can have no bills, no career, and no worries, right? God has a specific will for each of us. I’ve always likened it to the “God-shaped hole” that many people refer to in our need for salvation. If we have a “God-shaped hole” in our lives before we know Christ as our Savior, then I believe we also have a hole in our lives for God’s will as well. Until we find God’s will and do it, we won’t have fulfillment, real peace, and true joy in our lives. I firmly believe that many Christians don’t know real peace and fulfillment because they aren’t in God’s will. God’s will is never going to lead you to something that won’t bring about the best life for you. It will never lead you to sin or purpsoselessness. God has plans, purpose, blessings, and joy for each of us. It is of utmost importance that young people realize it is not about what they want to be when they grow up—it’s about what God wants to use them for! They will be at their best, enjoying life, and serving with purpose when they follow God and not their own wants and desires.
While there are many more truths that need to be taught to children, I think these are a few foundational concepts our kids desperately need in today’s culture. I think teenagers need to be reminded daily of their need for God and His Word. I also think that taking teachable moments with your kids to work through some of these things that are missing in a lot of homes is vital to the spiritual well being of your soon-to-be adult.
