How Children Learn About the Church!

         Psalm 78:5–7 reminds us the great task of telling and teaching our children God’s Word falls first upon parents: “For He established a testimony in Jacob, And appointed a law in Israel, Which He commanded our fathers, That they should make them known to their children; That the generation to come might know them, The children who would be born, That they may arise and declare them to their children, That they may set their hope in God, And not forget the works of God, But keep His commandments.” Parents, your children are always watching the way you live and listening to the words you speak. What are you telling / teaching them about the church?
     Things we say to our children can backfire on us. One little girl noticed a few strands of grey hair in her mother’s mostly brown hair. She asked, “Why are some of your hairs grey, Mama?” The mother replied, “Well, sweetheart, every time you don’t listen and do something naughty, one of my hairs turns grey.” The little girl was silent for only a moment and then said, “Mama, is that why ALL of Grandma’s hair is grey?” Ouch! Our children really are looking, listening, and learning even if we don’t realize it. The children’s song says, “O be careful little mouth what you say.” Why? “For the Father up above is looking down in love, So be careful little mouth what you say.” Would it not be proper to amend that song for adults in the church (especially parents and grandparents, to say, “O be careful big mouth what you say?” Surely so, for not only is the Father up above looking on and listening in to what big mouths say, but the children who live in our houses and ride in our cars are listening, too. Not only listening but looking and remembering and absorbing. Paul Faulkner wrote, “A child is a little video camera on legs” (Raising Faith Kids in a Fast-Paced World, p 74). That’s a funny thought, but a sobering one, too, for they see and hear the good, the bad, and the ugly in their parents and other older people. And, as Faulkner went on to note, what is being recorded will likely play back in the child’s life as they get older. In Faulkner’s words, “You’ll get to see a replay when you are about 40 and your children are grown — you’ll see them imitating you in their lives” (p 74).
     An appeal stated in 1 Corinthians 11:1 has special application for parents who want their children to love the Lord and His church — “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.” Parents, you don’t have to tell your kids to imitate you. They will, at least early on. Like wet cement, whatever falls on them makes an impression, good or bad. Wise parents realize the wisdom stated in the old adage, “Monkey see, monkey do.” Our children ARE watching and they ARE listening and they ARE learning! Parents, whether God-fearing or not, cannot escape teaching their children about the church. We teach by example, and daily impressions are being made that may last a lifetime. What are your children learning about the church and her elders, deacons, preachers, song leaders, Bible class teachers, and the good, faithful, truth-seeking people who sit on the pews in church assemblies? What impressions are you leaving on their moldable minds? You can’t teach them to love the church if you loathe it; you won’t teach them it is important if you act like it is irrelevant. Whatever they are learning, the naked and perhaps uncomfortable truth is they are learning it in their younger years from you. Will your children love the Lord and the church? You greatly increase the odds they will if you truly love them yourself. 

           Dan Gulley, Smithville TN