Obeying Parents

According to recent survey, only 21 percent of American adults valued children’s obedience as an important quality. This is a significant drop from when the same question was asked in 1990. Even though our culture may not value obedience, we know God still does. His commands haven’t changed. He still wants kids to obey their parents. And kids still struggle with this every single day! In this week’s lesson, kids learned about a time when Jesus wasn’t where His parents thought He was and they were very worried. This story often leads kids to wonder if Jesus disobeyed His parents. You can help kids understand that Jesus wasn’t being disobedient. This situation was more like a misunderstanding. Jesus knew He was supposed to be in the temple, focusing on God. The end of the story even tells us Jesus was submissive to (obeyed) His parents.

Here’s how we discussed this topic and how you can discuss at home: 

Discuss: On a scale of 1-10, how much do kids struggle with obeying their parents? If they almost never struggle, choose 1. 10 would mean it is a constant struggle.

Discuss: Does today’s story teach us that it’s okay to disobey our parents?

Discuss: What does God have to say about that?

Say: Some people hear today’s story and think Jesus was disobedient to His parents by staying behind. Jesus felt He was exactly where He was supposed to be; His parents just didn’t know that. He did not disobey them. We know that even though Jesus is fully human, He never sinned because He is also fully God. Exodus 20:12 says: Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. Jesus did this and God calls us to obey our parents, too. This may be one of the most challenging things God calls kids to do. However, the Holy Spirit can help us, and Jesus always forgives us when we mess up.