The question isn’t if you will teach them, it is what will you teach them. Teach them the truth.…If we give them all that they need to be able to think critically, but we never give them truth and sound doctrine, then the world will gladly swoop in with cheap replacements.

Children are all catechumens. A catechumen is someone undergoing the process of being catechized, or taught, certain truths or doctrines. Children are exceptionally good at hearing, understanding, and retaining information. Like little sponges they pick up everything during their time of catechesis. Some of you reading this are saying, “What do you mean? I’m not catechizing my kids. I didn’t even know these words before I started reading.” I want to inform you, you are most definitely catechizing your children. And if you aren’t, someone is.

Every parent is a catechist. You’re teaching your children something. When my kids run up and say a phrase they’ve heard me say a thousand times, I am reminded that my little catechumens are listening to my instruction, even the unintentional instruction. I’m teaching them purposefully, sure, but I’m also teaching them indirectly all the time. They are learning how to know what to value by what I value. They are learning how to get out of bed (or not) when the night was long. They are being taught how to fight sin, a hasty tongue, or an irritable attitude, all through the catechism of my life. I’m teaching them alright.

You say, “But I don’t want to teach my kids what to think, I just want to teach them how to think.” Yes! You should teach them how to think. But not teaching them what to think communicates something to them. It communicates something about truth. If I’m not willing to teach them what to think, then I am most certainly teaching them that truth is something that can be decided on. That truth isn’t settled. That truth can’t be passed down. But truth is settled! “Your word is truth” (John 17:17). “The sum of Your word is truth” (Psalm 119:160). We must teach our children what to think about God, the world, sin, and the need for a Savior. We need to tell them what is true about themselves. We are commanded to teach the truth to our children (Deut 6:7), and we are called to train them in the discipline and instruction of the Lord (Eph 6:4). So Christians are always trying to teach their kids what to think.

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