TRAIN UP A CHILD…
Family meal conversations may be the best opportunity we parents have to form the way our children think about the world, to articulate worldviews, to develop mental models.
Is that a controversial statement?
We often think of significant conversations or special moments as formational times, and they can be, but the truth is that most of the deep beliefs we have come from the habits of life, the repeated patterns and events that cemented the way we approach and respond to life. They are like water to a fish, we are blind to them, can't articulate them.
This is what the Bible is referring to when it says in Proverbs 22:6
, "Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it."
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This verse is often misused as a promise that taking kids to church means they will stay close to God as adults. You really have to skew the meaning of "train up" to make it mean "go to church". This same word translated here as "train up" is translated as "dedicate" when used in the context of dedicating the temple to God. It brings to mind the Shema in Deuteronomy 6:4-9 in which we are instructed to talk with our children about God's commands all the time in every context.
Consistently, creatively drawing our children's attention to God's ways throughout their time in our care is the idea here. This happens in word and deed and through the life we live day by day. It is caught as much as taught. As they grow older we are able to have higher level discussions regarding topics covering concepts that are more gray, that require them to use, to apply what they have learned.
In that vein, I created the 26 Discussion Starters available to those who subscribe to the blog posts. In addition, I will post more discussion ideas from time to time which is what I am doing in this post. All of the above was the introduction to what follows; please forgive the lack of brevity...
Have you taken the Coaching Workshop?
These skills are perfect for parenting teens!
ETHICAL DILEMMAS
The goal of these is to spark discussion. They do not have a "correct" answer. Each can be viewed from different perspectives and cases can be made for many possibilities. These are not for elementary school age children, but should work well for teens.
Wait to make your case. Our goal as parents is not to get our kids to see it a certain way but rather to encourage them to work out what they think and why. Ask questions and push them to explain their reasoning, not just their answers. Enjoy the discussion and keep it a safe environment. It may help, in some families, to set some ground rules before beginning. Examples would be no interrupting, no yelling, no ad hominem attacks, everyone gets to speak...
HONEST GAMBLERS?
This first situation happened in July 2020 in Las Vegas. You can read the article to see what happened.
The Bellagio sports book got the start time of Korean and Chinese baseball games wrong thus allowing people to place bets long after the games started.
Given the situation, was it right for people to place bets and win?
CHRISTIAN DIVORCE LAWYERS?
The second one is not based on a current event but came to my mind as I was listening to a Christian friend discuss his divorce case.
In what situations is it right/good/okay for a Christian to be a divorce lawyer?
Note that the wording in this question is chosen very specifically. You could ask, "Is it okay for a Christian to be a divorce lawyer?", but the question above is better for discussion. If someone thinks it is never okay, they can give that answer to the above question.
Pose these dilemmas to your teens the next time you are together as a family and enjoy the discussion. Be sure to debrief afterwards to help reflection and learning.
YOUR TURN...
So, what do you think? Please share your thoughts and experience with a comment below or on our Facebook Page.
