Last week I was asked the following question after Proverbs 31 Ministries published a
devotion I wrote about sin.
This question came to me:
“When is it a good age to teach and warn children about sin?
When the pastor took my first born in his arms during the baby dedication service he said something like this, “We dedicate our children to the Lord promising to bring them up to follow Christ. We anticipate the day when they realize their sinful natures and ask God’s forgiveness. As parents and leaders in the church it is our responsibility to point the children in the right direction. It is not necessary to point them in the wrong direction. They go there automatically. We do not have to teach them to make the wrong choice. They do so naturally. It is our duty to teach them to make the right choice beginning with the decision to follow Jesus.” Then our pastor asked the congregation to join us in the spiritual guidance of our son.
So when do we begin to teach about sin?
James 4:17 reads, “Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.”
When we teach our children to do what is right and they deliberately disobey it is time to begin to steer them in the right direction. I am not sure of the age when these teachings begin, but I do believe a mother who is engaged with her child can tell when deliberate disobedience takes place.
Some time in my sons’ preschool years they asked “why?” That was the perfect opportunity to explain God’s law. I told my children, “Because God says so.”
It certainly took the burden from my shoulders to be able to say, “This isn’t my idea. God designed it this way. He said so.”
God’s Word says “obey your parents.”
God’s Word says we are to be kind to others.
God’s Word says we are to tell the truth.
And on and on…
Why?
Because treating others with respect and dignity is what Jesus came to earth to teach so that we would live in unity and please our Father God.
A wonderful way to teach sin and its consequences is to read to our children and discuss the plot and characters, their choices and consequences. Good stories have the capacity to help our children learn from others what happens when we sin and then begin to learn how to avoid it.
Got any ideas on this topic? I am sure we would all benefit by your thoughts and experiences.
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1 comments:
Oh my ... I've moved so many times and in so many ways I don't know where to begin. I'm 60 now, and sometimes I wonder if ever I was meant to have a rooted place here. I think not.
Years ago I thought they'd come with settling into my marriage (what a brat was I back then, in my 20s); then I thought it was when I quit smoking (ugh!); then I hoped it would be when I moved with my family across the state; then back again. And certainly I hoped it would be when I went to work; then stayed home; then went to work again ... and again.
Alas, I had to toss up my hands to confess I didn't much like all the moves - external OR internal. And then one day I realized that I was content; deeply, richly content no matter where I was, or how I was. I don't recall a change. There's no event or date to mark the metamorphasis.
Maybe it's all a part of the grand scheme to keep our roots HERE loose enough for His transplanting them THERE someday. I think so.
God bless,
Kathleen