Out of my intention to draw out knowledge retention from the kids yesterday, I asked, "so kids, tell me how we should pray."
"Bow our heads".
"Close our eyes".
"Put our hands together".
Hey wait, I meant to ask "What should be the content of our prayer?" Haha, almost close answers!
But they made me think. Is putting our hands together mentioned in the Bible? Are we teaching the kids Biblical living, or just handling them down traditions that were never from God?
Then I remembered God's word in Job 42:3, "Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?". The friends of Job spoke words that have the appearance of wisdom, but at the end of the day, God proved them wrong by giving His word.
Colossians 2:21 "Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!"? 22 These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. 23 Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.
I remember a fellow kids' teacher who was assigned to lead the kids to prayer. At the end of the prayer, this friend led the kids in doing the Catholic's sign of the cross. I was shocked and caught off guard.
I am thankful that despite of our lack of training and resources, there are volunteers who are willing to spend their time and energy (and even money) for these kids who sometimes seem to never improve Sunday after Sunday.
But it is not us who would change them. It is God and his Word. Let's not impose our own traditions and human commands. We should always point them to the truth of God's word and not hastily giving our own opinion.�Teachers, let's not obscure the counsel of the Lord.
Do I sound angry? Cheer up! The Holy Spirit will guide us into all the truth (John 16:13).