Teaching What Matters Most

While my memory does not always serve me well, there are bits and pieces of my past that I recall during certain times and circumstances. The new school year has started or will be starting soon across the country. With that in mind, I was impelled to remember all the way back to one of the first few days I returned home from first grade. I took the big, yellow school bus home, and I excitedly ran to the house with a worksheet flapping in my hand. The sheet contained a simple picture that I had colored pretty much in the lines (that was important back then). But that was not what had me eager to arrive home to my mom. There was a sentence of at the most five words along with the crayon-colored tree. The thrilling part I was anxious to share was that I COULD READ! No matter that this was a rebus text, this piece of paper represented the beginning of a whole new world of learning and understanding for me. That paper became the foundation for every other bit of information I would ingest for the rest of my life.

I am so glad that I was privileged to have that education. It is that base that allows me to read and comprehend God’s Word, something that he desires each one of us to do. It is easy to take it for granted and forget that there was a time when only select people in a society had the ability to read for themselves. In fact, in certain cultures today, not every member of their society has the freedom or the means to do so. This makes it even sadder that we who hold this key to wisdom and knowledge neglect to make Bible reading a priority. People around the world in repressive countries who would give anything for even a scrap from God’s life-giving Word would find it hard to understand the apathy from those who profess to be Bible-believing Christians here in the land of opportunity.

This leads to another point which I have observed. In light of the school year beginning, whether children are being taught in a traditional public school, a charter school, a private or Christian school, online or in homeschool, much time and money is invested in curriculum, books, supplies, and all the other necessities to provide an optimal learning environment for them. What I have noticed, no matter the avenue of instruction, is that Bible reading and study tend to be a low priority on the list of subjects to master. Yes, children go to Sunday School, church, and maybe a mid-week service or Christian kids’ club where the Bible is shared, but to whom did God give the responsibility and authority to teach his precious Scripture?

The Book of Deuteronomy very clearly states that it is parents who are assigned the task of educating their children in his Word. “‘You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise’” (Deuteronomy 11:18-19. ESV).

I am highly aware that there is much vying for time and attention in the lives of twenty-first century families. But God’s Word is timeless, and his desire for us to know him more and more has not diminished just because we are in an age where activities and technology are ardent competitors for our focus and energy. As seen in the verses above, it begins with the adults in the room. By making the Bible a priority in their lives, parents are providing an example of the commitment to the Lord and the worship of him that he so richly deserves. It is absolutely true that it is only when we know something well, we are prepared to teach it. So, as you fill your heart daily with God’s Word, you will be equipped to do the teaching encouraged in Deuteronomy and to set your children on a path of their own Bible reading and study. In this way, they can become rich in the knowledge of his Word and draw closer to him. Begin in the younger years with age-appropriate Bible story books that you can read to your toddlers. As children mature, work your way into Children’s Bibles that you read together, and then eventually provide student and adult Bibles they can read on their own. Christian bookstores and online sites are full of devotional material geared for children and adults alike. And, if you are looking for a simple way to memorize God’s Word, take advantage of the Sing God’s Word series of CDs and other similar products that are set to music to dwell on Scripture and take it into one’s mind and heart.

God’s Word is not just meant to be heard from the pulpit or in a Sunday School class once or twice a week. It was given to us to read and to memorize and to ponder daily. Making it a priority in this coming school year will foster a closer relationship with the Lord for you and each of your family members, and it will ensure that you are teaching your children what matters most.

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