Yesterday I went to Mainly Music, a community programme that my church has started. It’s for parents and young children, with the main part being singing and moving to music with parental involvement. Three young ladies were helping out: a ten-year-old, a fourteen-year-old, and a fifteen-year-old. Each was working alongside her mother (who was a leader), and it struck me that this was a very good thing.
The Bible clearly states that parents are to teach their children the ways of God, and these young ladies were learning to serve others by working beside their mothers. This is a form of leading by example.
All the parental teaching in the world is of little value when parents do not have fellowship¹ with their children. Working alongside children is a great way to build a relationship with them², and these young ladies are able to work beside their mothers in a midweek event because they are home educated. Home education gives many opportunities for building relationships, and having a godly relationship with children is an essential part of setting them on the right path.
Proverbs 15:17 gives us another perspective on this:
Better is a dish of vegetables where love is
Than a fattened ox served with hatred³. (NASB)
†††
1. This term does not imply equality between parents and children. It is referring to unity or communion, in the sense of a team of oxen pulling a load together in order to serve their lord: in such teams one animal is the leader. The biblical Hebrew term habar has the meaning of “join (togther), unite”. The biblical Greek term koinonia “emphasises the worth of Christian community bound together by faith and trust in Christ”. (Expository Dictionary of Bible Words, ed. Stephen D Renn pp 376-7)
2. Which is more effective at building relationship with a child: working with her or sitting with her in front of a mesmerising, conversation-killing TV?
3. When applied to families this verse is saying “It’s better to be in a poor, loving family than in a rich, hateful one”. One has fellowship, the other doesn’t.
