Teachable Moments

As a single mom, I always look for teachable moments with my son–opportunities where I can teach him a biblical principle or bring a scripture to life. Recently, while listening to one of his favorite Christian bands he asked, “Mom, what do they mean when they say … in this song?” We listened to the lyrics, stopped the CD and deciphered what they were saying, what they meant, what the Bible says about it and how it apples to our lives and world today.

Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”

I don’t believe that this is a guarantee in and of itself, but instead a principle to live by. As parents, we are to teach our children everything we can, so that as they grow and mature they are able to make sound decisions using biblical wisdom. When this happens, they will not depart from the things they are taught and their choices will be a reflections of the wisdom they have gained.

I love how The Message version puts it:

“Point your kids in the right direction- when they’re old they won’t be lost.”

When we are trying to get from point A to point B, we use a map to guide our steps. As long as we follow the map’s instructions, we will get to our final destination with few obstacles or detours. When we veer from the map or take a short cut, we get lost. Our job is to point our children in the right direction placing map keys and legends in their path so they will end up at their final destination.

Our ultimate map is the Bible. It is our guide on this journey of life. Psalm 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.” As we teach our children to hide this map in their hearts, they will make wise choices when they come to a fork in the road. And they will remain on the right path.

Teachable moments are one of the many tools in our arsenal that children need as they travel on the road of life. These tools are to help them decipher the obstacles, questions and trials in life that are trying to cause them to take a detour from the path God has laid out before them.

Too many voices are speaking into the lives of our children. Our children are going to make decisions based on the voices that are speaking around them. As parents, we have to purposefully pursue the ear of our children and make our voices loudest of all. So let’s load our arsenal with teachable moments, prayer, Bible reading and study, praise and worship and open discussions. Let’s pull out these tools at opportune times to teach our children how to use them to build a foundation on the rock.

What tools are in your tool box? Whose voice is the loudest?