Christian Living

By Al Felder Children need to learn to love the truth. It is one thing to know the truth. It is another thing to love it. A child may learn Bible facts, memorize verses, answer questions correctly, and repeat what his parents have taught, yet still not develop a heart that truly loves what God has revealed. Parents must aim deeper than information. The goal is not merely for children to know what is right, but to desire what is right. They must learn to value truth more than

By Al Felder Children need to learn about salvation; no subject is more important. Parents may teach their children to work, obey, tell the truth, choose good friends, show kindness, handle correction, and live responsibly. All of those lessons matter, but if children do not learn the gospel of Christ, they have missed the greatest lesson of all. Salvation is not a family tradition. It is not inherited from parents. It is not received because a child grows up around Christian

By Al Felder Children need to learn the truth about death and judgment. This subject must be handled with wisdom, tenderness, and age-appropriate care. Parents should not try to frighten young children unnecessarily or burden them with matters beyond their understanding, but neither should they hide from them one of the most certain truths of life: every person will die, and every soul will stand before God. Hebrews 9:27 says, “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but

By Al Felder Children need to learn that God’s people must be different from the world. This does not mean they should be rude, proud, strange for the sake of being strange, or hateful toward others. Christians are to be kind, compassionate, honest, respectful, and willing to do good, but they must not blend in with a world that rejects God’s authority, excuses sin, mocks holiness, and follows human desire. Parents must teach children early that following God will sometimes m

By Al Felder Children need to learn to serve others. A child naturally sees life through his own wants, needs, feelings, and desires. He notices when he is hungry, tired, bored, disappointed, left out, or treated unfairly, but he must be taught to notice the needs of others. He must learn that life is not only about being served, entertained, protected, and provided for. He must learn to help, give, encourage, work, sacrifice, and think beyond himself. Service is not merely a

By Al Felder Children need to learn self-control. Self-control is the ability to govern desires, words, emotions, actions, appetites, and impulses according to what is right. It teaches a child that he does not have to obey every feeling, say every thought, satisfy every desire, or react to every irritation. Without self-control, a child may become ruled by anger, laziness, appetite, entertainment, impatience, selfishness, or pride. He may learn to do whatever he feels in the

By Al Felder Children need to learn how to handle correction. No child grows in wisdom without instruction, warning, discipline, and reproof. Correction is not pleasant in the moment, but it is necessary. A child who cannot receive correction will struggle in the home, in school, in work, in marriage, in the church, and most importantly, before God. The Bible says, “Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid” (Proverbs 12:1). That is plai

By Al Felder Children need to learn God’s design for marriage and the home. They are growing up in a world that is deeply confused about marriage, family, male and female, commitment, purity, authority, and love. Many people treat marriage as temporary, redefine it according to culture, enter it casually, leave it carelessly, or reject God’s order altogether. Parents must teach their children better. Marriage is not man’s invention. The home is not a social experiment. Male a

By Al Felder Children need to learn to guard their hearts. The heart is where thoughts, desires, motives, attitudes, choices, and character begin to form. A child’s outward behavior matters, but outward behavior grows from something deeper. What a child loves, listens to, thinks about, envies, fears, excuses, and desires will shape the direction of his life. Proverbs 4:23 says, “Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.” That is a powerful l

By Al Felder Children need to learn how to choose good friends. Friendship is powerful. The people children spend time with can shape their speech, attitudes, habits, interests, values, and spiritual direction. A friend can encourage what is right, or make wrong seem normal. A friend can strengthen reverence for God, or slowly weaken it. A friend can help a child walk wisely, or lead him into foolishness. Parents must not treat friendships as spiritually neutral. Children may

By Al Felder Children need to learn what the church is. Many people grow up thinking of the church as a building, a denomination, a social organization, a family tradition, or a place people attend when convenient. Others speak of “choosing a church” as if the church belongs to man and can be shaped by personal preference. Parents must teach their children something better. The church belongs to Christ. Jesus said, “I will build My church” (Matthew 16:18). That statement is i

By Al Felder Children need to learn gratitude. Gratitude is more than saying “thank you,” though children should certainly be taught to say it. Gratitude is a way of seeing life. It recognizes that blessings are received, not owed. It teaches children to notice goodness, acknowledge dependence, honor those who give, and thank God as the giver of every good thing. Without gratitude, children may become entitled. They may receive food, clothing, shelter, help, gifts, correction

By Al Felder Children need to learn contentment. They are growing up in a world built around dissatisfaction. Advertisements tell them they need more. Social media shows them what others have. Entertainment teaches them to chase attention, experiences, possessions, and approval. Comparison begins early, and when it is not corrected, it can grow into envy, greed, resentment, ingratitude, and constant unhappiness. Contentment is not natural; it must be taught. A child may belie

By Al Felder Children need to learn how to handle anger. Anger is powerful. It can affect words, actions, judgment, relationships, and spiritual decisions. A child who is not taught to govern anger may learn to shout, insult, strike, blame, threaten, withdraw, destroy, or seek revenge whenever he does not get his way. Parents must not treat uncontrolled anger as merely a personality trait. Statements such as “He just has a temper,” “She is strong-willed,” or “That is simply h

By Al Felder Children need to learn forgiveness. They will be hurt, disappointed, and treated unfairly. Siblings will offend them, and friends will fail them. Others may speak carelessly, act selfishly, break promises, or refuse to apologize. If children are not taught how to deal with hurt, bitterness can begin early. Forgiveness does not come naturally. The natural response when wronged is often anger, retaliation, blame, avoidance, or the desire to make the other person s

By Al Felder Children need to learn kindness. Kindness is not weakness. It is not merely being polite. It is not pretending that wrong does not matter. Biblical kindness is goodness in action. It is a heart trained to treat others with patience, mercy, compassion, gentleness, and helpfulness because God’s will governs the way we treat people. Children are not born knowing how to be kind. They must be taught to share, speak gently, consider others, forgive, help, listen, and s

By Al Felder Children need to learn how to work. That may sound simple, but it is one of the most important lessons parents can teach. Work is not merely about earning money, completing chores, or staying busy. Work teaches responsibility, discipline, patience, service, stewardship, and faithfulness. A child who is never taught to work may grow up expecting life to serve him. He may become careless with time, unwilling to finish difficult tasks, resentful of responsibility, a

By Al Felder Children need to learn modesty. That lesson should not begin when they are nearly grown. It should begin early, in simple, age-appropriate ways, as parents teach their children how to think about the body, clothing, attention, purity, shamefacedness, and respect for God’s design. Modesty is often treated as if it only concerns clothing. Clothing matters, but modesty reaches deeper than fabric. It begins with the heart. It involves humility, self-control, reverenc

By Al Felder Children need to learn respect for authority. This lesson begins in the home, but it reaches far beyond the home. A child who learns to respect rightful authority is being prepared to respect God’s authority, parental authority, civil authority, congregational leadership, and the responsibilities that come with marriage, work, and daily life. Respect for authority is not popular in a world that often celebrates self-will. Many children are taught, directly or ind

By Al Felder Children need to understand sin. That does not mean parents should burden young children with matters beyond their maturity. It does mean children must be taught, in age-appropriate ways, that sin is real, God defines it, and every person is accountable for his own choices. Many people today avoid the word “sin.” They may call sin a mistake, a weakness, a struggle, a lifestyle, a personal choice, or simply being human, but parents must not let the world soften wh