When Kids Don’t Like a Biblical Teaching: Guiding Their Struggles with Truth

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Hello, friends. Today's podcast question says: "A preteen child with a deep affection for animals is struggling with the concept of humans having more value than animals. She knows and understands what the Bible says about this, however she isn't sure about whether it matches with reality. What are your tips for discussing this?"

This is a really interesting question, and it's one that the children in your care may not be struggling with. However, I think this question relates to a lot of different questions, and it's important for us to think through what we should do anytime our children do not like a biblical teaching. So that's what we're going to look at today. What do we do when our children are struggling to accept or really don't like a biblical teaching?

Four Steps When Children Struggle with Biblical Teachings

As we think through the question at hand, what should we do when our children do not like a biblical teaching or they're having trouble accepting a biblical teaching? I think there are four steps that we can walk through with them in this process:

1. Ask questions to get to the heart of what is bothering them
2. Walk them through the biblical teaching
3. Give them time
4. Revisit the issue

What we're going to do for the rest of this podcast is walk through these four steps with the question that was written in about a preteen girl struggling to understand that humans are more valuable than animals.

Step 1: Ask Questions to Get to the Heart

In this case, the first step is to ask questions to get to the heart of what is bothering them. Ask questions just to learn more, questions like: "What are some of your favorite things about animals?" Allow her to talk and share some of the things that she loves about animals, because while God has called all of us as humans to steward creation and to care for creation, which includes animals, some people just have a natural affinity for animals, and that's a strength that God has given them. So give her an opportunity to talk about that.

Then ask her, "What makes you value animals so greatly?" Hear more about why she loves animals. Then ask a question: "What do you think the Bible teaches about animals?" If she just says, "The Bible teaches humans are more valuable than animals," that is true, but that's not the entirety of what the Bible teaches about animals. So just ask her some questions to get to the root of what she really believes that Scripture teaches about animals.

Follow up by asking, "What bothers you about the Bible's teaching on animals?" to find out if your understanding of the Bible's teaching on animals is correct or not. After you ask some of these questions just to hear what she has to say, summarize what you've heard her say and ask her if that's accurate. Maybe you've misheard her in some way and she can correct a way that you've misheard her, or maybe you've heard her correctly.

Once you've understood what she's saying, affirm what is true, because I'm sure there are some parts of what she's saying and believing about animals that are true—her love for animals, some of the things that she really enjoys and appreciates about animals. So affirm what you can that is true. Don't affirm anything that's not true, but affirm what's true and then thank her for being honest with you.

This first part is just more about learning. This is really hard for us as humans. There's a reason that the Apostle James had to tell us to be quick to hear and slow to speak, because in this fallen state, we are very quick to speak and slow to hear. We just need to take a step back and really hear and learn.

Step 2: Walk Them Through the Biblical Teaching

The second step is to walk them through the biblical teaching. You can ask this young lady, "Can we just look at several passages of Scripture that reveal some of God's view on animals?"

Genesis 1:20-31

The first passage that I recommend going to is directly in Genesis chapter one. What I'm going to recommend is a longer passage, but I think it's an important one to go through: Genesis chapter one, verses 20 through 31. We'll read that and then discuss the truths that are revealed.

This passage reads: "And God said, 'Let the water swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.' So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, 'Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.' And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.

"And God said, 'Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.' And it was so. And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

"Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.' So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.'

"And God said, 'Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.' And it was so. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day."

You can read this passage with her and say, "Okay, what truths are revealed about animals in this passage?" Talk about how this passage reveals that God made animals good. We heard three times in this passage that God looked and saw that it was good. This passage also reveals that God provided for animals by giving them the land, by giving them the air, by giving them the sea, by giving them food, and by giving them humans to care for them.

Discuss all of these different truths that are revealed about animals and then talk through how we can conclude from this passage that animals are good and God cares for them. So that is the first thing that we are told about animals right from the first chapter of the Bible: that animals are good, that God provides for them, that he cares for them.

Matthew 10:29-31

Another passage you can take her to is Matthew chapter 10, verses 29 to 31, which says: "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows."

Read through this passage and then ask, "Hey, what truths about animals are revealed in this passage?" Well, the first one, the one that might jump out to her, is about humans being of more value than sparrows. And that is true. But the first truth that we hear is that God cares for even the tiniest of creatures—sparrows that humans sell for mere pennies. Not one of them falls to the ground without God noticing. God cares for them. God, the God of the universe who created the entire universe, cares for even the tiniest of creatures.

Then you can talk through how this passage reveals that humans are of greater worth than animals, and it sounds like this is what is really bothering her. You can talk about how this is not because humans are somehow morally better or they're worth more money. It's because humans bear God's image. God is of infinite value. God is more valuable than anything. He's the creator and sustainer. So humans as God's image bearers are of greatest value in creation because we bear God's image and God is of infinite value.

A Helpful Illustration

Now, this might still bother her, and I think something you can do here is bring in an illustration. If she's like, "Great, so humans are of more value," and if you're up for this, I would go and see if you can take some money out of the bank and get a hundred dollar bill and put it on the counter. When she walks in the room, say, "You know what? Can you take that hundred dollar bill? I want you to take that and I want you to put it in the trash." She's probably going to be like, "What? Are you kidding me? A hundred dollars?"

When she asks you why, say, "It's just not as valuable as a thousand dollars. A thousand dollars would get me so much more than a hundred dollars. A hundred dollars just isn't as valuable as a thousand dollars. So put it in the trash." She's going to be like, "No, I could use this."

Then talk with her about this and say, "Okay, so just because a hundred dollars isn't as valuable as a thousand dollars, does that mean a hundred dollars is of no value? No, a hundred dollars is of great value. You can get a lot with a hundred dollars. So just because something is worth less than something else doesn't mean that thing that is worth less isn't valuable."

Now, this isn't a perfect analogy because humans and animals—we are not just worth a certain amount of money. That's not where our worth comes from. Our worth comes from God bestowing worth on us, the fact that we were created by him. But I think this is still a helpful analogy to show that just because something is of less value than something else, doesn't mean it has no value at all.

The Clapham Sect Example

Another thing that you can do with her is do a little bit of research on the Clapham Sect that was led by William Wilberforce, among others. The Clapham Sect was a group of Christians in Clapham, England in the late 18th and early 19th century, and they worked towards a lot of things. They worked towards abolishing the slave trade and freeing all the slaves in the British empire. One of the things that they worked towards that not many people know about is animal rights. Animal rights activism started with Christians who took the Bible seriously and saw that animals were created by God and had value.

Now, have animals been created to help us work, to help us steward creation? Yes, but the Clapham Sect actually worked and fought legally to get more humane treatment of animals in the British empire. So that's a fact that I think could be of great encouragement to this young woman.

Romans 8:19-23

Another passage to take her to in Scripture talking about animals is Romans chapter eight, verses 19 through 23, which reads: "For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies."

Read through this passage and ask, "Okay, what truths are revealed?" This passage reveals that all creation, including animals, has been subjected to the curse of sin. All creation—our planet, our universe, the plants, the animals, and us as humans—has been subjected to the curse of sin. It is because of us humans that all creation has been subjected to this, but it will not be this way forever. We are told in Scripture that when Jesus returns, he will make heaven and earth new. Therefore, we have good reason to believe that there will be animals on the new earth.

Step 3: Give Them Time

Just to recap, the first step is to ask questions to get at the heart of what is bothering our kids. The second step is to walk them through the biblical teaching. Then the third step is to give them time.

A lot of times when we see our children have a struggle with some aspect of the faith, we want a microwave response, a microwave answer where it's like, "Okay, I do X, Y, and Z, and then you're fine and you love Jesus, and you're going to be a Christian for the rest of your life." But that is not how faith works. A lot of times it takes a lot of time of God working in our children's hearts before they understand and believe the truth.

So give her time. Keep circling back and ask her what her current thoughts are and if she has any questions, but just give her time to process. This might look like days or weeks or months. In the meantime, be praying for her. Be praying that God would reveal the truth to her, that she would see that he is good and his design is good, and one day Jesus will return and will make all things new. So give her time and be intentional about praying for her during that time.

Step 4: Revisit the Issue

Then intentionally revisit the issue at one or more points in the future. Revisit the issue and say, "Hey, do you remember last month when we talked about animals and God's view of animals? What are you currently thinking about that?" Just ask her what her thoughts are. Ask her if she has any new questions or any new thoughts or any new concerns, and continue to go back to Scripture. Continue to pray for her and to revisit this topic as is appropriate in the future.

A Personal Note on Patience

Now, I will be honest with you here. Those of you who watch the Foundation Worldview podcast regularly know that I am not married. I do not have biological children of my own. So I do not know how difficult this is on an emotional level when you have a child who is wrestling with an issue of faith.

I also really, really struggle when things are left up in the air or things aren't resolved. Whenever there's an issue of something going on in my house, I really have trouble resting until that issue is resolved. Whenever there's a conflict in a relationship in my life, I have a lot of trouble resting until that conflict is resolved. So I'm going to be honest with you here that this is something that I greatly struggle with. I am not saying this from a position of, "Oh, I figured this out." I'm saying this from a position of I am still in the trenches of having to figure out how to do this well, and I haven't mastered it.

But I do know from Scripture that God works on his own timeline, which he knows is best, which is frequently different than our timeline. So I really encourage you, as your children have struggles with accepting or believing different teachings in the Bible, to remember that it's not usually a one-and-done deal. It's not a microwave issue or resolution to a problem. A lot of times it takes weeks, months, even years.

Summary

Just to remember these four steps when our children don't like a certain biblical teaching:

1. Ask questions to get to the heart of what's bothering them
2. Walk them through the biblical teaching on this topic
3. Give them time
4. Revisit the issue

Well, that's a wrap for this episode, but if you have a question that you would like for me to answer on a future Foundation Worldview podcast, you can submit that question by going to FoundationWorldview.com/podcast.

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As we leave our time together, my prayer for you is that no matter what situation you and the children God has placed in your care find yourselves in, you would trust that God is working all things together for your good by using all things to conform you more into the image of His Son.