The Dangers of Not Teaching Your Child God’s Word
Highlight: Teaching your child God’s Word is like giving them armor, wisdom, and favor all at once.
My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, listening closely to wisdom and directing your heart to understanding…then you will understand the fear of the Lord and discover the knowledge of God. - Proverbs 2:1-5
Imagine this: you’re raising a child, feeding them, clothing them, sending them to school, making sure they’ve got the latest sneakers and gadgets. But if you never teach them about God’s Word, you’ve missed the most important part of parenting. The Bible says, “for the Lord reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights” (Proverbs 3:12). If you neglect to teach your child about God, it’s like you don’t truly delight in them.
Scripture is clear: “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6). A child’s first pastor, first Sunday school teacher, and first spiritual leader should be their parent. If you leave that responsibility to the world, then TikTok, Instagram, music, and culture will become their teachers. And the world doesn’t care about their soul; it will leave them confused, broken, and wandering far from Christ.
The Benefits of Teaching Your Child
Solomon spoke directly to his son: “Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and forsake not your mother’s teaching” (Proverbs 1:8). When you teach your child God’s Word early, you’re planting a seed that can grow into a mighty tree, one that provides shade, fruit, and blessing for generations.
Proverbs 1:7 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and discipline.” Teaching your child about God keeps them from foolish decisions later in life.
Proverbs 2:1-5 paints the picture: “My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, listening closely to wisdom and directing your heart to understanding…then you will understand the fear of the Lord and discover the knowledge of God.”
And Proverbs 3:2-4 shows the reward: “For they will bring you many days, a full life, and well-being. Never let loyalty and faithfulness leave you. Tie them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will find favor and high regard with God and people.”
Teaching your child God’s Word is like giving them armor, wisdom, and favor all at once.
How To Teach Your Child
Deuteronomy 6:6-7 says it plainly: “And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.”
That means God’s Word should be woven into everyday life, at the dinner table, in the car, before bed, and when you wake up.
But here’s the warning: “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4). If you teach harshly, without love, you can push your child away. Paul reminds us, “Let all that you do be done in love” (1 Corinthians 16:14).
Teaching must match their level of understanding. Forcing a five-year-old to accept Jesus by threatening them with hell is dangerous. Yes, hell is real, but scaring a child into a decision they don’t understand can cause them to reject Christ later. Instead, share truth gently, in ways they can grasp. Don’t turn God into a myth like Santa Claus. Give them the real Word, in love, at their pace.
Weekly Family Bible Study
One of the best ways to disciple your child is through weekly family Bible study. Gather around the dinner table or before bed, open the Word, and talk about it. This rhythm plants Scripture deep in their heart.
Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; in all your ways know him, and he will make your paths straight.” Weekly study helps your child learn to trust God, not just themselves.
You Are Your Child’s Role Model
Your child’s first role model isn’t a rapper, athlete, or influencer; it’s you. You can teach them Scripture, but if your life contradicts it, they’ll see hypocrisy.
That doesn’t mean you have to be perfect. Only Christ is perfect. But it does mean living authentically. Let your kids see you pray in the morning. Let them see you open the Bible. Let them see you apologize when you mess up.
If they see you gossip, they’ll gossip. If they see you obsessed with material things, they’ll chase money over God. If they see you glued to your phone, they’ll copy that habit. What you do in front of your children speaks louder than what you say.
The Dangers of Neglect
Proverbs 29:15 warns: “The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother.” Neglecting to teach your child God’s Word will bring shame and regret.
Look at Eli’s sons in 1 Samuel 2. Scripture says: “Eli’s sons were wicked men; they did not respect the Lord or the priests’ share of the sacrifices from the people…so the servants’ sin was very severe in the presence of the Lord, because the men treated the Lord’s offering with contempt.”
Because Eli failed to instruct them, God cursed his family: “Look, the days are coming when I will cut off your strength and the strength of your forefather’s family, so that none in your family will reach old age…All your descendants will die violently…both of them will die on the same day.” (1 Samuel 2:31-34).
The consequences of neglect are deadly. Proverbs 19:3 says it leads to an early grave. And worse, it harms the next generation, because your child will influence others.
Children Are God’s Reward
Psalm 127:3 says, “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.” Children are not just yours, they’re God’s gift. And gifts must be stewarded.
If you raise them in God’s Word, they become lights in the world, carrying Christ’s truth to their generation. If you neglect them, you risk shame, regret, and destruction.
