Teaching Tip of the Week

11/10/97
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Questions About Parents


This past Thursday at Good News Club a question was asked that could make any teacher feel awkward. A child mentioned some things that her parents do at home that were definitely not right.

The teacher needs to teach the children to do right, but at the same time to honor their parents, even when their parents do wrong things. It seems easy enough to tell the children that parents aren't perfect. But much more difficult when the parents do wrong things in front of their children habitually or even intentionally. Many children are even in very bad or abusive home situations.

Tell the children that honoring their parents does not mean that they treat everything that their parents do as being good and worthy of being an example to follow. Rather, it means to love their parents and obey them completely inasmuch as their parents do not ask them to do something sinful. In that event they are to respectfully refuse to disobey God. They are to continue to love their parents and respect them by obeying them in all else and to pray for them daily.

Be sure to teach this respect and love for parents to the children. Show the same respect for them as you wish the children to show. Do not turn the children against the parents, but find a way that they can maintain their witness in the home.


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