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What To Do When Teaching Your Kid The Bible Stops Being A Priority

Of course, we know in our heads that teaching our kids the Bible should be a priority. Knowing something is not the problem. It is acting on what we know.

My actions always come from my most deep-seated beliefs. Those are my default mode. When I grow lax in my own walk with God, I can guarantee it leads to the rest of my family not being taught and loved like God wants me to do.

So, what can you do when you sense that teaching your kid the Bible has stopped being a priority?

Well, let’s start with our own walk with God and the spiritual issues we need to address first. Then we can look at some practical daily actions to back up the right heart attitudes!

Love The Word

Before we can ever teach our children to love the Word of God, we first have to fall in love with God’s Word for ourselves. Remember, we can’t teach our kids to love what we are apathetic to!

Growing our love for Scripture takes time. God’s Word is an acquired taste.

When I was growing up, I loved listening to country music. But I will be honest I loved it a little too much. So I started to try to replace a few songs a day with Christian music. Want to know something? I hated Christian music more than some kids hate broccoli! It took several months to grow in my appreciation of Christian music. That was over 15 years ago and I can honestly say, I rarely listen to country music now. Not that I have stopped enjoying it but my taste has changed. It took time.

Reading our Bibles is like that too. It is much easier to read Christian fiction books or even Christian Bible studies rather than reading the actual Word of God. We want someone else to do the hard work of reading the Bible and just tell us what God told them. But that is not what God wants. He wants us to taste and see that His Word is good!

So, before you dive into trying to convince your kids that they should love the Bible, spend time growing your own taste buds to appreciate the depth and wonder that is found in studying your own Bible!

As your taste for the Scriptures grows, so will your passion to share what you are tasting. When you are sharing from your joy and excitement, you will find that teaching your kid the Bible becomes a priority again.

Keep The Word In The Proper Prospective

Okay, we must love God’s Word. But we can’t worship it.

I know that this might sound weird to many Christian women, especially if they haven’t developed a deep love of the Word. However, it is also possible to swing so far the other way on the spectrum that you love the Word of God more than you actually love knowing God.

Check your heart to make sure that you have not placed more importance on God’s Word than you have placed on having a personal relationship with Him.

If the Bible is an idol that replaces our actual relationship with God, our kids will see that too. Let them know that the Bible is how we can know God but it is NOT God. We must worship God and hold the Bible in proper reverence.

Read Your Own Bible

Honestly, the best thing I have ever done for teaching my kid the Bible was to study my own Bible. With the kids around.

Yeah, it is not always the most focused Bible study time. But, you want to know what I get to see my kids do? They start grabbing their own Bibles and studying too.

My daughter currently loves to take her little brother to a quiet corner in the house and hold “Bible study” together. Usually they say their Bible verses and sing Jesus Loves Me really loudly and then they open their Bibles and retell the Bible stories from the pictures.

Kids will imitate what they see. A Lot. Even when they don’t show you, they are often imitating you. If they see you struggling and turning to the Bible to find God’s wisdom that will do much to teach them how they too should lean on and learn from Scriptures.

Give your kids a Bible study life to imitate!

Develop A Love For Learning The Bible Together

Again, kids imitate. They will only develop a love of learning the Bible if they see those around them love being students of God’s Word.

Show them how to take in a Bible story well. Help them ask good questions to draw from the passage you are studying. Pick apart a hard verse and use a commentary to look up words that confuse you both. Do whatever you must to help kids see that it is not only possible to learn the Bible but that it can be enjoyable.

You will never be able to teach your kids everything the Bible has to share. However, you can help them love to learn the Bible so they continue doing it well after they have left your home!

Make Time For The Bible On Your Calendar

Honestly, when I put the Bible reading on my to-do list, I get it done.

When I first started putting my Bible study time on my to-do list, I hated doing it. Seriously, it felt like like scheduling sex.

But you know what I do put on my to-do list? My priorities. If teaching your kid the Bible is a priority like you want it to be, then you will have to get practical. And that will mean making time in your daily schedule.

Write it down on your to-do list. Set an alarm on your phone. Put a giant sticky note on your bathroom mirror. Whatever it takes to place it back on your radar and your schedule!

Plan Bible Reading Times Out In Advance

From time to time, I sense God calling me to do something totally different with our Bible reading time. However, the most practical and effective way to make good use of my time teaching my kid the Bible is when I have planned in advance.

Are we doing a big reading and craft?

Are we doing a short reading and a long discussion question?

Who will be reading about?

How can I help give my kids context  for what I will be teaching them?

What questions should I ask my kids to get them thinking about what we read?

Is there an activity that we should do together to reinforce the lesson?

Plan ahead. Whether you spend five minutes planning each day or two hours once a month. Figure out what works for you and get it down in writing.

Help yourself make teaching your kid the Bible a relaxing, enjoyable part of your day-not a moment of panic and chaos.

Embrace Flexibility

As I mentioned, there are times when life just happens. Proper Bible teaching won’t happen every day. Cold bugs hit. Job schedules get shifted unexpectedly. Vacation time to Grandma’s house is hectic.

Give your family and yourself some grace. Realize that teaching your kid the Bible is an ongoing activity over the years. This is a marathon. Not a sprint.

Also, this is a time to grow and enjoy. Please resist the temptation to turn your Bible training into a competition with another family from your church, homeschool, or Bible study group.

Take each season in stride. When time allows, dig deep into God’s Word with your child. Relish learning together. Thrill to watch their eyes open to God’s Truth!

When time runs low and plans don’t happen, leave it in God’s hands.

As time allows in the chaos, sing a Bible song together. Say your favorite Bible verse and talk about in the car as you drive to Grandma’s house for vacation. But don’t stress. Not every day is going to be a Pinterest-perfect Bible lesson. That is beyond okay. That is life.

Let your kids see you live out the Bible truths that you are studying. Point them to Christ in the midst of a messy life. And enjoy the quieter times when you can teach your kid the Bible again. 🙂

Other Resources To Consider

365 Read-Aloud Bedtime Bible Stories

The 365 Read-Aloud Bedtime Bible Stories was one of my favorites as a child. Currently, we are walking through it now with my oldest child. I love the fact that it gives them the Bible at their level of understanding without just glossing over hard passages of Scriptures. My daughter loves that she has her own Bible study to complete “just like Mommy.”

Bonus points goes for having some simple questions that end each day. It helps me get conversations going after!

How to Study Your Bible for Kids

Okay, this one is geared for kids that are several years older than my own so I don’t have personal experience with it yet. That being said, I definitely wanted to include How to Study Your Bible for Kids because it is a resource I plan to use in the future.

Also, I have enjoyed Kay Arthur’s version of this book for adults so the fact that she brings it down to a kid’s level sounds extremely promising.

77 Fairly Safe Science Activities for Illustrating Bible Lessons

Finally, my husband found this cool little book a few years back. We have used it mainly for Children’s Story times at our church.  However, as our kids get a little older, we are looking forward to using the 77 Fairly Safe Science Activities for Illustrating Bible Lessons as a spring board for a summer time Bible study. (Because some of these might get a bit messy and the idea of holding our family Bible study time outside sounds fun!)

If you want a hands-on approach to studying parts of the Bible, this would be worth checking out!

Your Turn

What heart attitudes do you currently have towards the Bible? Do you see those attitudes affecting your priorities of teaching your kid the Bible?

Have you found a time in your schedule that tends to consistently work for your family to study the Bible together?

Are there resources that have helped you to teach your children the Bible? Please share those resources in the comments below so everyone can check them out too! 🙂

Thanks for stopping by!

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