How to Teach Children About God—What Methods Work Best? ??

[Bible Speaks]

How to Teach Children About God—What Methods Work Best?

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“These words that I am commanding you today must prove to be on your heart; and you must inculcate them in your son and speak of them when you sit in your house and when you walk on the road and when you lie down and when you get up.”—DEUTERONOMY 6:6, 7.

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PARENTS may at times feel overwhelmed by the responsibility of training their children. When they seek advice, however, the sheer volume of counsel on the subject may swamp them further. Relatives and friends are often keen to pass on their suggestions. And books, magazine articles, and Internet sites offer parents a constant stream of sometimes conflicting advice.

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The Bible, on the other hand, provides parents not only reliable counsel on what to teach their children but also practical direction on how to teach them. As the Bible verses quoted above indicate, parents need to find some way each day to talk about God to their children. Discussed below are just four Bible-based suggestions that have helped thousands of parents to teach their children about God.

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?1. Draw lessons from creation. The apostle Paul wrote: “[God’s] invisible qualities are clearly seen from the world’s creation onward, because they are perceived by the things made, even his eternal power and Godship.” (Romans 1:20) Parents can do much to help their children see God as a real Person by drawing attention to God’s creative works and then helping their children discern what qualities of God those creations reveal.

?2. Imitate Jesus’ attitude toward those whom he taught. Of all the people who ever lived, Jesus had the most important things to say. Yet, he spent much of his time asking questions. He was keenly interested in the thoughts and feelings of those whom he taught. (Matthew 17:24, 25; Mark 8:27-29) Similarly, parents have many important lessons to teach their children. To be effective, though, they need to imitate Jesus and encourage their children to state freely how they feel.

?3. Teach by example. Parents do well to listen to the counsel the apostle Paul gave to Christians living in Rome. To them he wrote: “Do you, however, the one teaching someone else, not teach yourself? You, the one preaching ‘Do not steal,’ do you steal?”—Romans 2:21.

?4. Start while the child is young. The apostle Paul’s missionary companion Timothy had an excellent reputation in his community. (Acts 16:1, 2) One reason was that “from infancy” he had been taught “the holy writings.” Timothy’s mother and grandmother not only read the Scriptures to him but also helped him to reason on the truths those writings contain.—2 Timothy 1:5; 3:14, 15.

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Where You Can Find HelpJehovah’s Witnesses produce a number of publications specifically designed to help parents teach their children the truth about God. Some are written with young children in mind. Others can help parents and their teenage children keep the lines of communication open.*

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Of course, before parents can teach their children about God, they need to know the answers to some of the difficult questions that children may raise. For example, how would you answer such questions as the following: Why does God allow suffering? What is God’s purpose for the earth? Where are the dead? Jehovah’s Witnesses would be happy to help you learn the answers to those and other questions so that you and your family can draw close to God.—James 4:8.

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The Hebrew word translated “inculcate” at Deuteronomy 6:7 carries the thought of repeating a point often.For younger children, parents can use the book Learn From the Great Teacher, which highlights the teachings of Jesus Christ, or My Book of Bible Stories, which relates in simple language key lessons from the Bible. For youths, parents can use the books

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Questions Young People Ask—Answers That Work, Volumes 1 and 2.