Manageable Morsels
You’ve probably heard the joke about the kid who prayed, “Our Father who art in Heaven, Howard be Your Name…” We laugh at this, and so many other kidmin jokes, because they are true. I know you can relate. I’m sure you could share many of your own!
Let’s be honest. Kids misunderstand a lot. It is also possible that sometimes we don’t do a good job of explaining things. What if we say a lot of things that they hear differently than what we meant? What can we do about this?
Back to the Lord’s prayer example above, why would kids be expected to understand old English? They probably don’t even know it is something we might dust our furniture with. (another joke they wouldn’t get!) One option is to use a more kid-friendly version that’s easier to read and understand. However, I also think there is value in reading the more challenging, adult versions, but here is the key: EXPLAIN unfamiliar words! (Even words we think they should understand.)
Words like repent, baptize, covenant, testament, doctrine, and tithe we all realize we need to define, explain, maybe give examples. But also words we might take for granted they already know like abide, meek, mourn, tomb, pasture (sounds a little like pastor, right?), and cloak.
Did you know the word “abide” is used ten times in the first ten verses of John 15. There is nothing uniquely religious about the word abide, but it might be unfamiliar to kids. In the language of the New Testament, it is the ordinary word for to stay, or remain, to be present, to dwell. It can also mean to continue or stick with. With this in mind, when teaching John 15, after reading the verses explain that Jesus meant: “Stay close to Me. Stick with Me.” Break it down into a few short words that kids understand, remember, and take with them – I will stay close and stick with Jesus.
They may have heard “cloak” referenced in Star Wars about something a Jedi would wear (or possibly from Star Trek about Romulans and Klingons hiding a starship). If the lesson for the day is Elijah and Elisha, part of the lesson might be the cloak Elisha picked up when Elijah was taken up. Referencing cloaks that Jedis wear in Star Wars could help kids relate, be engaged, and remember the lesson. (It could be taken even a bit farther and compare the Jedi and Padawan relationship as an example of Elijah and Elisha. Even though Jedis don’t leave their cloak for their Padawan, they do train them.) The point is, we might think they know “cloak” and they might think they know, but providing a definition, an explanation, and examples enrich the meaning of the lesson.
What about hard or confusing topics? Do we avoid teaching challenging topics they might misunderstand? Of course not! I am a firm believer that kids can understand and learn hard things. So what do we do? I’ve heard people use the phrase (and it is a pet peeve of mine) that we water it down for them. Some might call this semantics, but instead of watering it down, I believe that we need to break it down into bite-size pieces. So what’s the difference?
The dictionary defines watered-down as “to dilute, to weaken, to weaken the potency or effectiveness of”, to modify or adulterate, especially so as to omit anything harsh, unpleasant, or offensive, to water down the truth. Compare that to breaking it into bite-sized pieces, which means that something is too large in its present form for someone to consume. It must be broken, cut, or torn into manageable morsels that easily fit in one’s mouth.
Watering down the Word dilutes and weakens its power. Let us never be accused of that. Instead, let’s break it down each week into bites our kids can grasp, understand, comprehend, digest, and absorb so they are spiritually healthy.
Trish Weeks
Teacher, Leader, Pastor
