Teach Them Proper Values

Mario, a father of two, similarly recommends: “Give children lots of love, and read to them.” However, it is not just a matter of stimulating your children’s mental faculties. You need to teach them how to discern right from wrong. Mario adds: “Have a Bible study with them.”

To that end, the Bible admonishes parents: “Do not irritate your children, but bring them up tenderly with true Christian training and advice.” (Ephesians 6:4, Weymouth) Emphasis on moral instruction is lacking in many homes today. Some believe that when children get older, they will be able to decide for themselves what values to accept. Does that make sense to you? Just as young bodies need proper nourishment to grow up strong and healthy, so young minds and hearts need instruction. If your children do not learn moral values from you at home, they will likely adopt the views of their schoolmates and teachers or those of the mass media.

The Bible can help parents to teach their children how to distinguish right from wrong. (2 Timothy 3:16, 17) Jeff, an experienced Christian elder who has raised two children, recommends using the Bible to teach children proper values. He says: “Using the Bible helps children realize how the Creator feels about a matter, not just Mom and Dad. What we noticed is the Bible’s unique effect on the mind and heart. To address wrong conduct or thinking, we took the time to find an appropriate scripture. Then, in a private location, we let the child read the text. Often the result was a tear or even tears streaming down the cheeks. We were amazed. The Bible had greater impact than anything we could have thought to say or do.”

Hebrews 4:12 explains: “The word of God is alive and exerts power . . . and is able to discern thoughts and intentions of the heart.” The message of the Bible is therefore not merely the personal views or experiences of the humans whom God used as his penmen. Rather, it represents God’s thinking on moral matters. This sets it apart from all other advice. By using the Bible to teach your children, you are helping them to have God’s mind on matters. Your training has greater weight, and you have a better chance of reaching your child’s heart.

Catherine, mentioned earlier, agrees. She says: “The more difficult the situation, the more we sought guidance in God’s Word​—and it worked!” Can you make greater use of the Bible in teaching your children how to discern right from wrong?

On Teaching Proper Values:

In a 1969 New York Times Magazine article, Dr. Bruno Bettelheim stressed that a child has the “right to form his own inner opinions, influenced not by [his parents’] authoritative [preaching], but only by his own direct experience with life.” Almost 30 years later, though, Dr. Robert Coles, author of The Moral Intelligence of Children (1997), acknowledged: “Children very much need a sense of purpose and direction in life, a set of values” approved by their parents and other adults.

Proverbs 22:6 urges parents: “Train up a boy according to the way for him; even when he grows old he will not turn aside from it.” The Hebrew word translated “train” also means “initiate” and here indicates the initiating of the first instruction of the infant. Parents are thus encouraged to start teaching their children proper values from infancy on. (2 Timothy 3:14, 15) What they learn during these formative years is likely to remain with them.