Are You Helping Your Child to Choose Jehovah?

“I FELT that studying the Bible was really boring and tiresome. Secretly, I decided in my heart that I would not be one of Jehovah’s Witnesses when I grew up,” declared one young man. Although hopefully the majority of children in Christian homes will eventually choose to stand on Jehovah’s side, young ones like him may go through a difficult time choosing Jehovah as their God.

Parents sometimes feel at a loss as to how to guide their children effectively. They undergo much soul-searching, like the anxious father who once said: “To be honest, there were times when I looked at my children’s sleeping faces, tears of disappointment still on their cheeks, and wondered if I should not have been more lenient.” His two sons grew up and chose to serve Jehovah.

Yet there are youths who abandon Jehovah and leave the Christian fold for Satan’s world. So just how do parents succeed in helping their children to choose Jehovah? To answer that question, let us first find out why some youths abandon Jehovah when their parents so desperately want them to stay with him.

Why Some Youths Abandon Jehovah

One of the more common factors is that some youths never really get to know Jehovah or his ways. Though attending Christian meetings from infancy, they merely go through the motions, and there is no real searching for Jehovah. (Isaiah 55:6; Acts 17:27) The boy mentioned above was bored at the Christian meetings because he did not understand what was being said by the speakers on the platform.

The seeds of truth are planted in some, but they allow their hearts to be allured by the apparently carefree, materialistic life-style of Satan’s world. Some cannot cope with the extremely strong desire to be with and be like their peers.​—1 Chronicles 28:9; Luke 8:12-14; 1 Corinthians 15:33.

Throughout the world, however, many children in Christian homes have chosen to stand on Jehovah’s side. Can something be learned from the positive steps their parents took?

Start Early

A vital key in helping your children to choose Jehovah is to start early. In most cases, impressions received and lessons learned when the heart is tender and receptive will last for a lifetime. (Proverbs 22:6) So start early to tell your children about Jehovah’s goodness, his love and awesomeness, endeavoring to build in their hearts love for Jehovah and appreciation for what Jehovah has done for them. To accomplish this, many parents have successfully used the abundance of articles on Jehovah’s creations found in publications of the Watchtower Society.

Obedience and respect for Jehovah and his worship are among other qualities that must be inculcated early in life. It is heartwarming to see preschool children at Christian meetings struggle to take simple notes and to look up texts in their own Bibles or go with their parents to the bathroom to wash their faces with cold water when they get drowsy. These are simple things, but how vital they are in impressing on the young mind that respect and obedience should be shown to Jehovah!

Serious personal Bible instruction should also start early. When their boys were two years old, one couple started to read with them the book Listening to the Great Teacher.a Later, when the boys began school, they would get up early and study each morning with their mother in the books My Book of Bible Stories and You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth.* This would be followed by a discussion of the day’s text conducted by the father before breakfast. The parents’ efforts were richly rewarded when their sons recently chose to serve Jehovah, symbolizing their dedication by water baptism at the ages of 10 and 11.

A fine young man who is serving at the Watch Tower Society’s branch office in Japan recalled that when he was very young, his mother helped him to develop a relationship with Jehovah by sitting at his side at night, helping him to pray. He never forgot the lesson taught​—no matter where he went or what he did, Jehovah was always close and ready to help.

Successful parents learn to recognize wrong tendencies that are due to their children’s inherited imperfection, and the parents start early to help their children to correct these. (Proverbs 22:15) Inclinations toward selfishness, stubbornness, pride, being overly critical of others, must be dealt with early. If not, such seeds will grow into rebellion against God and his ways later on. For example, well-intentioned but overly indulgent parents often let their children develop self-centered attitudes. These children find it hard to respect either their parents or Jehovah, becoming like the ‘thankless ones’ mentioned in the Bible. (Proverbs 29:21) On the other hand, children who are given home chores and who are taught to be alert to the needs of others tend to be more thankful both to their parents and to Jehovah.

Another essential is starting early to set theocratic goals that a child can reasonably achieve. If this is not done early and consistently, others may fill his mind and heart with different goals. Reading the Bible through, personally studying one of the Watchtower Society’s publications, joining the Theocratic Ministry School, becoming a proclaimer of the good news, and getting baptized should be included among these goals.

Takafumi recalls that his mother got him into the habit of reading the Watchtower and Awake! magazines by making up simple questions and leaving them on the kitchen table for him to find when he came home from school. Yuri remembers that staying for a few days with pioneersb serving where the need for Christian ministers was great, going out with them in the ministry, seeing them cook good meals, and observing their joy and zeal greatly influenced her desire to serve Jehovah in the same way. Many youths recount that their parents regularly brought them to Bethel, as the headquarters and branches of the Watch Tower Society are called, where they could observe other young men and women happily serving Jehovah. Many of those who visited as children now serve in Bethels around the world.

Give Your Children Your Time

The quantity and quality of the time you spend with your children will likely have a direct bearing on whether they choose to serve Jehovah or not. They are quick to discern how much time and preparation you put into the Bible study you conduct with them. If you cannot remember where you left off on the last study or you cancel the study for trivial reasons, you are conveying the message that the study is not that important. However, when they see that parents make sacrifices for the study, prepare well for it and conduct the study regularly no matter what comes, an entirely different message is conveyed. Though it is not a requirement, some mothers dress up for their children’s study, the same as when going to meetings or conducting a Bible study with a neighbor. The impression given is that Jehovah’s worship is important.

Much time and effort will be needed to make your children’s Bible education enjoyable, reaching their heart. Small children in particular are impressed when they see the things they are learning acted out in front of them. One father, for example, helped his children to visualize the resurrection by acting out the Bible account of the resurrection of Lazarus. He went into the closet and then emerged as the resurrected Lazarus.​—John 11:17-44.

As the children approach adulthood, it takes even more time and skill to deal with the flood of emotions, doubts, and anxieties they face. The time set aside by loving and discerning parents at this stage is crucial if the children are to develop trust in Jehovah. One successful father of four recounted that when his children faced various problems, he would look up and discuss with them related material in Watchtower publications every day until the crises were completely overcome.

A busy pioneer mother of two noticed that her daughter was becoming withdrawn and lacked joy in theocratic activities. So the mother determined to be at home when the child returned from school each afternoon, engaging the daughter in conversation over a cup of tea. Through the intimate mother-daughter conversations, the girl received the help she needed. Now, upon graduating from high school, she has joined her mother in the pioneer service.​—Proverbs 20:5.

Good Association and Example

In addition to giving their time, parents must provide wholesome association for their offspring. Proverbs 13:20 says: “He that is walking with wise persons will become wise, but he that is having dealings with the stupid ones will fare badly.”

Many successful parents recognize the truth of that proverb. A father of four says: “When I look back, I think it was our children’s wide circle of friends in the truth that helped move them to serve Jehovah. I encouraged them to make friends in other congregations as well as our own and to nurture those friendships.” A Christian elder who has served at Bethel for many years reminisced: “When I was young, we lived in a small house, but it was always offered as accommodations for the circuit overseer. In addition, special pioneers in our congregation regularly had dinner with us. They took baths at our house and associated with us. Hearing their experiences and seeing their joy helped me to cultivate appreciation for the full-time service.”

Good association helps those who are going through difficulties. A mother whose son was experiencing a turbulent time discussed the problem with a traveling overseer of Jehovah’s Witnesses. He recommended taking the boy out in the field service with her. “If you do, his spirituality and everything else will improve,” the overseer said. She reports: “In our congregation there was an arrangement for evening witnessing, and many school-age children, several older regular pioneers, and at least one elder shared in it. At first it was a struggle to get my son to go out regularly, but that did not last long as he always came home more cheerful and encouraged by the wholesome association. While he was a student in high school, he got baptized and served as an auxiliary pioneer every month, and when he graduated, he became a regular pioneer.” Wholesome association coupled with doing Jehovah’s will brought good results.

There may not locally be young ones that can be a wholesome influence on your child, but an observation repeatedly made by many youths who chose to serve Jehovah concerns their parents’ examples. Many youths admired their parents and wanted to imitate them. Yuri recalls her mother’s hospitality and how she cared for others, calling them on the telephone and making meals for the sick. Tatsuo, who comes from a family of four boys, all now grown and serving Jehovah, said: “Mom could not study with us regularly because Dad was an unbeliever and she got much opposition from the relatives. But observing her stand for the truth and her joy in serving Jehovah influenced me greatly. She also was willing to stay up till the early hours of the morning to help us with our problems.” Parental words of wisdom have power when backed up by faithful works. Yoichiro said about his parents: “I cannot remember that they ever expressed negative thoughts about others in the congregation; nor did they allow us children to gossip about the faults of others.”​—Luke 6:40-42.

Joy in Seeing Children Choose Jehovah

There is no foolproof formula to help your children to choose Jehovah. There will be many anxious moments. But the troubled father mentioned earlier said: “As parents we always faithfully tried to follow the suggestions of Jehovah’s visible organization. This was a great help in overcoming problems.” Their efforts met with success.

Yes, by doing your best to follow Bible guidelines, giving your children sound reasons for loving Jehovah, backed up by your faithful example and sincere efforts to help, you too may eventually find your efforts crowned with success. Recall the boy mentioned earlier, who had once determined not to become one of Jehovah’s Witnesses? Well after his mother had successfully helped him through his difficult years, he said: “I’m glad she never gave up!” You may have a similar outcome with your children.​—Galatians 6:9.

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Can you look back on child rearing with happy memories?