Are You Helping Your Child to Choose Jehovah?

“I FELT that studying the Bible was really boring and tiresome. Secretly, I decided in my heart that I would not be one of Jehovah’s Witnesses when I grew up,” declared one young man. Although hopefully the majority of children in Christian homes will eventually choose to stand on Jehovah’s side, young ones like him may go through a difficult time choosing Jehovah as their God.

Parents sometimes feel at a loss as to how to guide their children effectively. They undergo much soul-searching, like the anxious father who once said: “To be honest, there were times when I looked at my children’s sleeping faces, tears of disappointment still on their cheeks, and wondered if I should not have been more lenient.” His two sons grew up and chose to serve Jehovah.

The boy mentioned above was bored at the Christian meetings because he did not understand what was being said by the speakers on the platform.

When their boys were two years old, one couple started to read with them the book Listening to the Great Teacher.a Later, when the boys began school, they would get up early and study each morning with their mother in the books My Book of Bible Stories and You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth.* This would be followed by a discussion of the day’s text conducted by the father before breakfast. The parents’ efforts were richly rewarded when their sons recently chose to serve Jehovah, symbolizing their dedication by water baptism at the ages of 10 and 11.

A fine young man who is serving at the Watch Tower Society’s branch office in Japan recalled that when he was very young, his mother helped him to develop a relationship with Jehovah by sitting at his side at night, helping him to pray. He never forgot the lesson taught​—no matter where he went or what he did, Jehovah was always close and ready to help.

Takafumi recalls that his mother got him into the habit of reading the Watchtower and Awake! magazines by making up simple questions and leaving them on the kitchen table for him to find when he came home from school. Yuri remembers that staying for a few days with pioneersb serving where the need for Christian ministers was great, going out with them in the ministry, seeing them cook good meals, and observing their joy and zeal greatly influenced her desire to serve Jehovah in the same way. Many youths recount that their parents regularly brought them to Bethel, as the headquarters and branches of the Watch Tower Society are called, where they could observe other young men and women happily serving Jehovah. Many of those who visited as children now serve in Bethels around the world.

A busy pioneer mother of two noticed that her daughter was becoming withdrawn and lacked joy in theocratic activities. So the mother determined to be at home when the child returned from school each afternoon, engaging the daughter in conversation over a cup of tea. Through the intimate mother-daughter conversations, the girl received the help she needed. Now, upon graduating from high school, she has joined her mother in the pioneer service.​—Proverbs 20:5.

A father of four says: “When I look back, I think it was our children’s wide circle of friends in the truth that helped move them to serve Jehovah. I encouraged them to make friends in other congregations as well as our own and to nurture those friendships.” A Christian elder who has served at Bethel for many years reminisced: “When I was young, we lived in a small house, but it was always offered as accommodations for the circuit overseer. In addition, special pioneers in our congregation regularly had dinner with us. They took baths at our house and associated with us. Hearing their experiences and seeing their joy helped me to cultivate appreciation for the full-time service.”

Good association helps those who are going through difficulties. A mother whose son was experiencing a turbulent time discussed the problem with a traveling overseer of Jehovah’s Witnesses. He recommended taking the boy out in the field service with her. “If you do, his spirituality and everything else will improve,” the overseer said. She reports: “In our congregation there was an arrangement for evening witnessing, and many school-age children, several older regular pioneers, and at least one elder shared in it. At first it was a struggle to get my son to go out regularly, but that did not last long as he always came home more cheerful and encouraged by the wholesome association. While he was a student in high school, he got baptized and served as an auxiliary pioneer every month, and when he graduated, he became a regular pioneer.” Wholesome association coupled with doing Jehovah’s will brought good results.

Yuri recalls her mother’s hospitality and how she cared for others, calling them on the telephone and making meals for the sick. Tatsuo, who comes from a family of four boys, all now grown and serving Jehovah, said: “Mom could not study with us regularly because Dad was an unbeliever and she got much opposition from the relatives. But observing her stand for the truth and her joy in serving Jehovah influenced me greatly. She also was willing to stay up till the early hours of the morning to help us with our problems.” Parental words of wisdom have power when backed up by faithful works. Yoichiro said about his parents: “I cannot remember that they ever expressed negative thoughts about others in the congregation; nor did they allow us children to gossip about the faults of others.”​—Luke 6:40-42.

Joy in Seeing Children Choose Jehovah

There is no foolproof formula to help your children to choose Jehovah. There will be many anxious moments. But the troubled father mentioned earlier said: “As parents we always faithfully tried to follow the suggestions of Jehovah’s visible organization. This was a great help in overcoming problems.” Their efforts met with success.

Recall the boy mentioned earlier, who had once determined not to become one of Jehovah’s Witnesses? Well after his mother had successfully helped him through his difficult years, he said: “I’m glad she never gave up!”