Teaching Your Kids to Think

“Think” definitions

• to have a conscious mind
• reasoning, remembering experiences, making rational decisions
• to consider something as a possible action, choice
• to have as a plan or intention
• to anticipate or expect

Synonyms – contemplate, appreciate, ponder, reflect, ruminate, stop to consider, use one’s head

Antonyms – forget, ignore, neglect

There are hundreds and hundreds of references in the Bible to “think.”  Thinking is something we need to pay attention to!

What to think and why

There are many reasons we need to teach our kids to think.

When kids are young, we have an opportunity of teaching them what to believe, what to think – about God, the origin of the universe, the nature of man, the basis of ethics and morality, the cause of evil and suffering, what happens to man at death, the meaning of history.  We can give them a solid biblical foundation and high quality lenses through which they can perceive the world around them (I’ll talk more later about Christian worldview).

As they get older, our roles as parents, teachers, and influencers can shift to one of teaching them why they believe by looking at hard questions like the deity of Jesus Christ, His resurrection, the Bible as God’s Word, miracles, science and Scripture, why God allows suffering and evil, Christian experience, and so forth.

The world offers our kids a smorgasbord approach to life.  Blaring at them from every angle are messages urging them to find their own path, to make their own way in the world, to take one of the “other roads.”  But there’s a problem.  There’s only one path of truth – whether the world likes it or not, it is absolutely exclusive.  The pathway to truth can be hard on the feet.  But only one pathway leads to heaven.  The “other roads” require them to stop thinking.  But the Word and the Spirit renews our fallen reason, so that by God’s grace we can think rightly.  In order to stand firm for truth and against error, we and our kids must become skillful thinkers.  We must cultivate sanctified thoughts, thoughts reined in and kept on a leash, thoughts full of awe and wonder at Jesus Christ.

Discernment vs passivity

It is my opinion that one of the most important tools we can give the kids over whom God has granted us influence is the ability to think and discern.  Philippians 1:9 – 11 says, “And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.”  Our kids need to know the love of God in Christ Jesus, they need knowledge, they need depth of insight.  I want to strongly encourage you to pray for and with your kids often – God and God alone can transform our kids on the inside.  God can fill in the many gaps in the way we parent, the way we teach, the way we influence the kids in our lives.  I love Isaiah 54:13 – “All your sons will be taught by the LORD, and great will be your children’s peace.”  So we can pray these things – love, knowledge, depth of insight – into their lives, and actively participate in helping them along.  When they have these things, God promises us a beautiful result – discernment and purity and the fruit of righteousness.  Notice that Paul didn’t just say “so that you may be able to discern what is true” but “so that you may be able to discern what is best.”  God has a highest and best plan for each precious one, and it’s our responsibility and privilege to help each child over whom we have influence to discover and live it out.  Our kids desperately need discernment to navigate well the dangerous journey ahead.  Incidentally if you haven’t already read this excellent children’s version of “Pilgrim’s Progress”, I highly recommend it – “Dangerous Journey”

Let’s consider what have been termed the “seven mountains of culture” – these are the areas that most significantly influence lives and nations:

• Arts & entertainment
• Business
• Education
• Family
• Government
• Media
• Religion

In which of these areas is thinking welcomed or held in high esteem?  Thinking has almost become a lost art in our era of passivity.  In each of these cultural areas, just a few people influence the masses.  A few people do the thinking while many, many people just flip their brains open to receive whatever comes down the pipeline.  A few producers and actors exert a huge influence on our society, especially the teenagers.  A few policy-makers make wide-reaching decisions that affect almost every family via the school system.  A few corporations decide what stories are news-worthy and influence widely the thinking of the nations.

The computer-animated sci-fi movie WALL-E made a powerful statement in its humorous portrayal of our human tendency towards complacency and indulging the flesh, by showing that these tendencies inevitably have destructive consequences not only for people but the rest of the planet.  As Christians, we definitely do not need to be passive in our thinking.  We need to train our minds and the minds of the next generation, in order to influence the world for Christ.  Romans 12:2 (NLT) – “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”

Bible teacher Ken Boa wrote – “Our world is not as it was intended to be.  We are not who we were intended to be.  Things have gone awry.  And the real danger is that we now assume it to be normal.  The brokenness, the upside-down-ness of it all, is expected and common – but it is not normal.  The only thing worse than assuming that it’s normal is shrugging our shoulders and going on with our lives without any sense of hope that this problem might have a solution or that we may even be asked to play a part in fixing this mess.  When we muster up our courage enough to accept the valid diagnosis, an amazing thing happens: When we acknowledge that the problem is sin – not particular sins, not someone else’s mistakes or shortcomings, but our own personal and corporate evil in our thoughts, values and behavior – then and only then do we recognize that there’s hope.  Something can be done for sin.  Something has been done for sin . . . God’s solution to our problem is not that we should love Him better but that we should receive the love He offers us.  Such a great depth of love cannot help but restore us to our intended state.  Once internalized, love begins its relentless work of transforming, a work that stubbornly refuses to be done until we look like we are meant to look, until we are sound, whole, holy.”

Yes, the problems in the world are enormous and complex and intimidating.  But God is bigger still, and His plan, His very best plan, is that ordinary people like you and me and kids are the ones He’s going to use to change the world.  It starts with thinking.  Luke 6:45 (NIV) – “The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.”  Ultimately all speech and actions come from our thinking.

Christianity has transformed civilization

I want to give you a big dose of faith-building here with a short list of how Christianity has transformed civilization.  We forget what the world would have been like if Jesus hadn’t come.  We have to get our thinking aligned with what is true, and not buy into the many lies that are paraded around in feeble attempts to discredit Christianity.  Two great books to encourage you in this area are “What if Jesus Had Never Been Born?” and “Under the Influence: How Christianity Transformed Civilization.”  Listen to some highlights of how Christianity has changed the world:

• People were transformed by Jesus Christ and effected revolutionary changes – socially, politically, economically, and culturally
• The sanctification of human life (contrasted with these which were commonly practiced and condoned – infanticide, abandonment, abortion, gladiatorial shows, human sacrifices, suicide)
• Christianity elevated sexual morality from utter depravity to bringing about honor, dignity, and privacy to marriage
• Women received freedom and dignity
• Charity and compassion
• Hospitals and health care
• Education – every school, public, private, religious, secular, college, university – is a product of Christianity
• Labor and economic freedom dignified – there are profound economic effects when individual and economic freedom go hand in hand
• Science – only in Christian thought, with the existence of a single God, the Creator and Governor of the universe, one that functions in an orderly and normally predictable manner, is it possible for science to exist and operate
• Liberty and justice for all – wherever Christian ideals have been generally accepted and their practice sincerely attempted, there is a dynamic liberty; and wherever Christianity has been ignored or rejected, persecuted or chained to the state, there is tyranny
• Slavery abolished
• Art and architecture – the truth and religious significance of Christian art is not a mere end in itself, but rather an intimate part of human life, and has the potential to renew man’s life
• Music – for centuries both sacred and secular music in Western society, much of it written by Christians or by musicians influenced by Christianity, had a highly edifying effect on people.  But with the continued growth of secularism and relativism, there has been a steep and rapid decline in the wholesomeness and beauty of music.
• Literature
• Holidays, words, symbols, expressions

Think on these things

I want to focus on another key verse – God has made it clear what we are to think about.

Philippians 4:8 (NIV) – “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things”

(NLT) – “Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise”

(The Message) – “I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized.”

(Amplified) – “whatever is true, whatever is worthy of reverence and is honorable and seemly, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely and lovable, whatever is kind and winsome and gracious, if there is any virtue and excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on and weigh and take account of these things [fix your minds on them].”

Various commentators give these thoughts on “think on these things” –

• Esteem them highly
• Recommend them heartily
• Let them be the object of your careful attention and study
• Practice them fervently
• Think on the obligation to observe them
• Think on the influence which they would have on the world around you
• Meditate upon them
• Revolve them in your minds
• Reason with yourselves about them

Teaching kids to think

Thinking is both caught and taught.

Thinking takes time.

It’s not only about imparting information; it’s about allowing Christ to renew our minds and the minds of our children.  I want to give you five principles in renewing our minds – these are not meant to be a step-by-step process that we can check off, but principles to apply and integrate in the way we live.  This is by no means a comprehensive or complete teaching . . . this is mostly a collection of random thoughts that I jotted along the way.

Expose

• Word of God – saturate
• Read, remember, reflect
• Live it, discuss, apply
• Plan interactions with God
• Plan interactions with the Bible
• Plan interactions with His creation
• Establish good habits, good framework, build good foundation, saturate thinking with what is good
• Provide great reading material for your kids (resources) – don’t just go for the nearest or most convenient books or whatever the bookstore deems “good” (that goes for Christian and secular bookstores).  There are some great bibliographies that provide lists of “great books” to read, for people of all ages and stages and interests – “The Book Tree”, “Honey for a Teen’s Heart”, “Take & Read”, “The Lifetime Reading Plan”, “The Well-Trained Mind”, “The Well-Educated Mind”, “Invitation to the Classics.”  I put together a list of a couple of hundred books on our family website – sculleyfamily.com – under “Karen’s adventurous project to read lots of great books in her spare time (a.k.a. books I want to read before I die!)”
• Thinking isn’t just about the brain – God made us to be integrated, whole people
• Integrated learning experiences
• Promote health in body, soul, spirit
• Applying thinking to the real world – discernment, examine world view, think about what is really being communicated (not just what is said on the surface)  We make a big deal out of studying worldview – it’s in our school curriculum, and we send our teens to Worldview Academy, a one week summer camp at Berry College (tagline – “the best week of their life!”)  Kinds of books we study – “Starting Points: Where our thinking begins”, “Thinking Like a Christian: Understanding and Living a Biblical Worldview”, “Understanding the Times”, “Relativism”, and at the moment we’re studying everyday ethical dilemmas of biotechnology in “Playing God” by Charles Colson.
• Encourage self-disicpline, self-control
• Build attention span (reading aloud is a great way to do this)
• Reward waiting (not impulsivity)
• Resist the pull of culture to settle for low expectations.  Read heroes of the faith stories to lift vision – e.g. “David Livingstone” & series, “Living on the Devil’s Doorstep” & series, “Hero Tales”, “The Book of Virtues”, “50 people every Christian should know”  These kinds of stories rewire our thinking about what is “normal” – God has so much more for each person than most of us can imagine in our wildest dreams!
• In modern education system, children are required to study only core subject areas like language arts and math.  What about art?  Music?  Other languages?  Enjoying the great outdoors?  I’ve heard numerous reports from teachers over recent years that due to budget or time constraints, some schools have eliminated art, music, social studies, and even science out of their curricula, reducing “school” and “learning” to “passing tests.”  Don’t relinquish what God gave us as a gift – the truth is that “God richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment” (1 Timothy 6:17), including the ability to think!  Stimulate thinking by supplementing your kids’ learning, regardless of whether they’re in public, private or home school – “Do Fish Drink Water?  Puzzling and Improbable Questions and Answers”, “<puzzle books>”

Explain

• Seek out and avail yourself of opportunities that promote thinking . . . example – watching a movie – passive style is to just sit there mutely; thinking style is to sit there and discuss it together as you go; give commentary as needed; use the pause button
• Take advantage of natural opportunities – mealtimes, driving in the car – instead of “teachable moments” in which you are the teacher and they are the student – promote “thinkable moments” where you together think through what happened, what was said, what was communicated, what the author is implying, etc.  why is the news being cast in that light?
• Have discussions (use book of questions at mealtimes that stimulate discussions, e.g. “Talk to Me” or “The Complete Book of Questions”)
• Brush up on logic – e.g. “The Thinking Toolbox” – chapter titles like: a discussion, a disagreement, an argument and a fight; when it is dumb to argue; fact, inference, or opinion; you can’t believe everything you hear; how to be a keen observer; how to analyze data

Exemplify

If you like to think, it will rub off on your kids

Read widely GOOD books

Get equipped, get educated (Alpha course, Worldview Academy, read widely, attend seminars, borrow DVDs from AVC education office)

Study how the Bible relates to every area of life, e.g. in “Thinking Like a Christian”:

• Theology
• Philosophy
• Biology
• Psychology
• Ethics
• Sociology
• Law
• Politics
• Economics
• History

Use discernment in what you personally read and watch (pluggedin.org, use good bibliographies, read mostly the great books, don’t fill up on junk food)

• Invite others into your home who are positive influences

Evaluate

• Honest feedback
• Discover blind spots
• Make changes

Education yourself about current cultural trends (Generation iY, unchristian)

Observations about the next generation (from Generation iY):

• They want to belong before they believe
• They want an experience before an explanation
• They want a cause before they want a course
• They want a guide on the side before they want a sage on a stage
• They want to play before they pay
• They want to use but not be used by others
• They want a transformation, not merely a touch

The Director of U. S. Public Sector Social Engagement at Microsoft names these 5 cultural trends as shaping our society:

• Consumer technology as fashion
• Nobodies as influencers
• Generation Y and the Recession (connecting, expressing openly, collaborating, helping communities . . . not interested in the rat race to make lots of money)
• Web 2.0 and Open Government (distrust of authority, disillusionment, rise of cheap software which empower the masses)
• The Do-It-Yourself Movement (as contrasted to Do-It-For-Me)

Andy Crouch, author and senior editor of Christianity Today, gives these as the ten most significant cultural trends of the last decade:

1. Connection (email, mobile phones, wifi, facebook)
2. Place (less mobility, more will change careers to stay in same place than change place to stay in a career)
3. Cities (revived as centers of commerce and creativity; suburban life becoming more challenging – connections harder to sustain, local culture is thinner and less appealing)
4. The end of the majority (we are all minorities now – cultural, religious, political diversity)
5. Polarity (more tightly homogenous subcultures)
6. The self shot (image shaping, MySpace, Facebook)
7. Pornography (and its close cousin, advertising and popular culture)
8. Informality (casual dress, cohabitation, spirituality and rejection of institutionalized church)
9. Liquidity (wealth disconnected from real assets, borrowing gone haywire)
10. Complexity (no longer a limited number of institutions of power that influence many; countless connections in countless locations)

Encourage

• How can we make sure that our kids are doing their fair share of the thinking?  How can we keep ourselves from getting pulled into working harder on their lives than they are?  How can we help them become prepared for a world full of decisions and consequences?  Replace statements with questions.  Don’t just tell info, prompt thinking by stirring imagination, mystery, questioning.  Some of the most powerful moments come when we empower kids by asking them what they plan to do about various situations instead of telling them what they need to do.  The implied message we send says, “You are smart.  You can come up with the answer.”  Kids who are given this gift are far more likely to succeed in school and in life.   On top of that, the human brain has a hard time ignoring the questions it hears.  It wants to search for the answers – it just can’t help itself.  What a gift we give kids when we get them to think versus telling them what to do.
• Be comfortable with mystery and not knowing all the answers
• Hone the art of asking questions, not just telling answers (Peter Kreeft’s books on “a contemporary Socrates” are wonderful – “The Best Things in Life”, “The Unaborted Socrates”, “Socrates Meets Jesus” and others)  Read page 96 of “The Best Things in Life”
• Limit things that promote passivity in thinking
• Imagination – redeeming, developing the imagination
• Not only do we need to teach our kids to think in order to keep them from evil, but also so that they will reach their highest and best potential in Christ.
• Some forms of humor are great teaching tools – Adrian Plass books get us thinking about why we do what we do in the Church – our thinking tends to get skewed if we don’t keep realigning – can’t see the forest for the trees.   Read p. 19 – 21 bits and pieces from “The Sacred Diary of Adrian Plass”

In closing, I want to again emphasize the importance of prayer in birthing good things in our children’s lives and thinking.  Then as we do our part – expose, explain, exemplify, evaluate, and encourage – God will bring about transformation in not only their lives but the lives of many others.