Christian Worldview for Children: Training the Heart and Mind of a Child to Follow Christ

by Brannon Howse

The Bible instructs parents to “train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6). While godly training is the most important responsibility of a parent, it is, as you have likely discovered, hard work. Training does not just happen by chance. It takes time, discipline, sacrifice, patience, and consistency.

I recently wrote the book, Christian Worldview for Children: Training the Heart and Mind of a Child to Follow Christ. I wrote this book because I could not find a book, (to accompany the Bible) to use to give my own children the foundation for a Biblical worldview. Yet I knew if I were going to train my children to follow Jesus Christ, I needed to start early, and I knew the teaching must be specific. Since it is not obvious to everyone, let me explain for a moment why training the hearts and minds of our children to know the basics of our faith is so important.

The Bible Tells Me So

The Bible mentions the heart 826 times. “Heart” refers to the core of a person’s being. Proverbs 4:23 says the heart is “the source of life.” From the heart proceed our good and bad thoughts, emotions, and behavior. So preparing the soil of a child’s heart is crucial if we want to plant the seeds of Biblical truth and see them grow to maturity.

The Bible says we are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind. Unfortunately, many Christians ignore this last point. Christianity is not something we believe by blind faith. There are solid reasons to become a Christian. Scripture variously commands us to think, reason, discern, judge, determine, contend, and argue—all activities of the mind. Using one’s mind in service to Jesus Christ is an act of worship and love.

In Scripture, the words “heart” and “mind” are often interchangeable and other times they complement one another. Jeremiah 17:9, for instance, describes the heart as “more deceitful than anything else and desperately sick,” so the mind must moderate the heart. The Bible also describes the nature of those who ignore God and tells us how to practice godliness:

• Psalm 14:1—“The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God’.”

• Proverbs 23:19—“Hear, my son, and be wise; And guide your heart in the way.”

• Deuteronomy 4:9—“Only take heed to yourself and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life.”

• Matthew 12:35—“A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.”

• Proverbs 23:7—“For as he thinks in his heart, so he is.”

Your heart and mind are part of your soul, the core of who you are—and who you will still be after you die. The heart and mind will live forever and be judged by God (Romans 2:5; Revelation 2:23). The person that repents of sin and surrenders his or her will to the Lordship of Jesus Christ is the person who has received mercy and grace. That person has been saved by God on the basis of Christ’s complete payment for sin at Calvary. In the day of destruction, the saved person is not judged because of his or her sins.

Training the heart and mind of a child to follow Jesus Christ is not just about this life, but also the life to come. It is about eternity. Could there be any more important job for a Christian parent? Romans 10:10 says, “For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

The Biblical Goals of Christian Training

Is this business of training just so our children will be well behaved and make us look good in public? Or is it so they will seek God? In his excellent book, Shepherding a Child’s Heart, Tedd Tripp outlines why we must intently train our children:

Therefore, your parenting goal cannot simply be well-behaved children…your concern is to unmask your child’s sin, helping him to understand how it reflects a heart that has strayed.  That leads to the cross of Christ. It underscores the need for a Savior.

The central focus of childrearing is to bring children to a sober assessment of themselves as sinners. They must understand the mercy of God, who offered Christ as a sacrifice for sinners. How is that accomplished? You must address the heart as the fountain of behavior and the conscience as the God-given judge of right and wrong. The cross of Christ must be the central focus of your childrearing… the focal point of your discipline and correction must be your children seeing their utter inability to do the things that God requires unless they know the help and strength of God.

The vast necessity of training children can be summarized in five central goals for a Christian parent. We train our children so they will do these things:

Seek God

Although King Jehoshaphat of Judah—according to 2 Chronicles 19:3—was not saved, he had taken steps to prepare his heart to seek God: he removed idols from his land. Just as the non-believing king prepared himself for God, we can prepare the hearts of our children early on to seek God by making sure they have no idols in the way.

Acknowledge their sinfulness, repent, and follow Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord of their life.

1 Thessalonians 5:23, “…and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Live a life centered around pleasing God, not men, by doing His will from the heart, not as a legalistic compulsion

• Ephesians 6:6-7—“…as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men…”

• Romans 6:17—“…you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered…”

• Matthew 22:37—“Jesus said to him, ‘“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the greatest and most important commandment.’”

Fulfill the Great Commission: To make disciples who follow Jesus Christ.

• Ezra 7:10—“…For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel.” Here is an example of preparing the heart to seek God and His laws and to teach them to others.

• 1 Peter 3:15—“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear…”

Have a comprehensive Biblical worldview so as to understand the times and know what God would have them do.

1 Chronicles 12:32 tells us that in Israel there were men “who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do…”

In our next installment in this series of articles, we will look at “how” to biblically train the heart and mind of a child to follow Christ.

For more information on Brannon’s new book or to place your order please click here:

http://www.worldviewweekend.com/secure/store/product.php?ProductID=400

By Brannon Howse Email: Brannon@worldviewweekend.com Click here for bio and archived articles