Did you know that Jesus referred to three of Aesop’s fables in his teachings? Jesus took advantage of stories the people already knew to reinforce points he was trying to make. Of course, Jesus is famous for his telling of parables – earthly stories with a heavenly meaning. In fact, depending on how you count them, he taught as many as 50 parables while he was on Earth.
Stories are a wonderful way to make abstract concepts more concrete – especially for children, who struggle with abstract thinking. They are also great memory hooks. Your brain is wired to remember a story – in part because it is more visual in nature. You may not easily remember a command or principle illustrated by a parable or a story in the Bible, but retelling yourself the story can bring to mind how you should apply the lesson to your life.
Your kids need to hear lots of stories. Of course stories and parables from the Bible are best, but you can reinforce biblical principles with stories by other authors. It’s important to be careful when using stories outside of the Bible, however. While Jesus referred to Aesop’s fables a couple of times, it is doubtful he would have recommended using them to teach theology, as some of them contain principles that are anti-biblical. It’s not that they are bad for your children to hear, just be sure to point out when they stray, like in “The Lion’s Share” (in which the strongest takes the biggest share v. the biblical principles of generosity and a servant heart).
Don’t forget that your life and the things you have observed and experienced make great cautionary and educational tales for your kids. They will love hearing about the mistakes you made when you were their age and the lessons you learned. Don’t be afraid to constantly reinforce that if they are wise, they will avoid making mistakes in life by learning from the stories of others rather than making mistakes and suffering the negative consequences themselves.
So tell your kids lots of stories while you are in the car, taking walks, eating meals or at bedtimes. Stories will teach them a lot and they are a lot more fun than lectures.
