Honesty—real honesty—is rare. Honesty requires wisdom, grace, and discernment. It’s the harder path to take. But it’s always the better one. If you’re a parent who wants to help your kids develop a heart for the nations, please, please, please don’t sugar coat anything.
Here are three things that you need to be honest about:
1. Be honest about the need
Generations of parents have used the familiar dinner-time line with their children: “You know, there are starving kids in ______.” I know Sandee and I tried it when our kids were little. And no. It didn’t persuade them to eat their vegetables. While that idea might motivate some short-term behavioral change, it misses the mark in building real awareness of the needs around the world. Don’t shrink back from telling the painful truth to kids. Letting them know that there are kids around the world who don’t have enough to eat has a dual effect: building awareness of global realities while cultivating a heart of thankfulness towards God’s provision.
2. Be honest about what’s at stake
Help kids appropriately connect with ideas like spiritual darkness, slavery, hunger, oppression, and poverty. From there, help them see what they can do. The fact that the gospel can bring life and light into those painful realities is a powerful and practical truth for kids to learn. The key is to keep those needs relatable. That means that you will connect your life to these realities as well.
3. Be honest about their opportunity
Kids love to be involved. It’s part of being a kid. If there’s a tree in the backyard, they want to climb it. If there’s a jungle gym, they want to play on it. If there’s a puddle, they want to jump in it. Once kids understand that the world is a hurting place where they can help, they will want to do something. They can incredible creativity to engage in a relevant way. Pay attention to that enthusiasm. Prepare for it. Cheer them on.
This post is part of a seven-part series from Brian’s Rhodes’ book 11 Ways to Give Your Kids a Heart for the Nations. To check out the full book, click here. We’ll continue to highlight Brian’s content through March as part of our 60-in-60 campaign. We hope you enjoy it!
