Resources

Training for Life

Training for Life

By Eric Baesel


 
October 2010
 
My wife and I have almost finished preparing for what I am sure will be the challenge of a lifetime. Since we don't know what we'll face, our plan is just do the best we can. I expect we'll face obstacles along the way: disgruntled natives, changes in plans, enemy alliances, unforeseen setbacks, and wanting to give up and turn back. But we're not quitters. And the prize is so big it's worth it.

No, we're not headed for some television reality game show. We're just about to start homeschooling our five-year-old daughter. We're as ready as we'll ever be and yet, there is nothing that can make a parent feel more inadequate for a job than to remind him of his obligation to “train up a child in the way he should go,” (Proverbs 22:6).

Figuring out what God expects of parents when it comes to teaching our children His ways is simple, but not necessarily easy. We can take a systematic approach to educating our children in “the three R's,” reading, writing and arithmetic. We can send them to excellent schools and provide them tutors and mentoring. But it seems that God never intended for parents to relegate “training in righteousness” to just a half-hour of Bible stories each day or once-a-week Sunday school lessons. If Deuteronomy 6 is our guide, it's clear that God has lifestyle training in mind. We read in verses 6-7, “These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up,” (NIV). In other words, we should always be in training mode. It is in everything we do as we go about our daily tasks, teaching our children by living lives of obedience to God.

The idea is that more is caught than taught. Formal instruction is important of course, but our kids will ultimately learn more from us if we have a vibrant spiritual life, one not hidden from view. Integrating spiritual discipline into a family's routines is helpful as well. What that looks like day-to-day will be different for every family.

Most evenings, our family enjoys a time of family worship. We have a simple service, which includes singing hymns and talking about their words and meanings, reading Bible stories and discussing their applications, and singing Scripture verses set to music. Singing Scripture is a fun, easy way of memorizing — even our two year-old twins are learning phrases from the songs. We also have a short time of prayer where we practice praising God, thanking Him, and sharing our requests before the Lord. It seemed awkward when we first started but quickly became an enjoyable part of our day. The routine helps us focus our attention on the Lord and also teaches the importance of worship.

Our daughter's bedtime routine includes talking about the day and sometimes more prayer. We usually end with listening to an episode of Paws & Tales. The theology taught in each episode is a wonderful springboard for more meaningful conversations. As you can tell, casual conversation is at the foundation of our approach to teaching spiritual things. Our best teaching times are when we're talking in the car about the beauty of a sunset or when we're disciplining our children, discussing how God brings His children to repentance, restoration, and forgiveness.

I think it's important to note that you don't have to be a spiritual giant or a Bible scholar in order to teach your children theology. We aren't either of those things by a long shot. Demonstrating a genuine desire to share your spiritual life with your kids, being authentic in how you live, and being consistent between what you say and how you live will speak volumes. By showing our children what our own relationship with God looks like and being purposeful about creating a family environment that prays, reads the Bible, worships, and enjoys talking about the things of God together, we are fulfilling the parents' mandate in Deuteronomy 6. And all the while my children are learning theology in a natural way. It's not always easy, but it's easily the most important thing we can teach our children.




About the Author:  Eric Baesel

Eric Baesel


Eric Baesel is the creative manager of Creative Productions for Insight for Living US and the producer for Paws & Tales. He lives in north Dallas, TX with his wife Laura and their three children, Keira, Carter, and Connor.