As a parent, I’m constantly in teaching mode. Sometimes it’s not a planned thing, either. Sometimes opportunities just present themselves.
While cleaning out the attic, we’ve recently come across a box of old children’s books that I had put away (for safe keeping, no doubt). One of the treasures that we found was a book of classic fairy tales. I’m a big fan of fairy tales; there are so many life lessons that can be learned through these little stories! But can you find a Gospel life-application within the pages of a fairy tale?
I believe you can. And it was a pleasant surprise!
Let’s take for instance the tale of “Little Red Riding Hood”. What a great example of how Satan tries to deceive us! He lies to us and tries to trick us to believing that even what we know to be right might just be an incorrect perception!
How about “The Lion and the Mouse”? Remember the lion does not think that the mouse can help him, but gets a laugh from the tiny mouse so he lets him go. Later the lion is caught in a net and it is the mouse that rescues him. The moral of the story COULD be: even though children are small they can still do mighty things for God.
Then there is always the classic tale of “The Tortoise & the Hare”. The race is not to the swift but to those who endure. In the Bible, Paul spoke many times of pressing toward to the goal. That’s exactly what the tortoise did, he did not become overconfident, but kept his mind on the goal, and ultimately won the race.
If any of you are into musical theater, one of my favorite shows is “Into the Woods”. It’s a Stephen Sondheim musical, which takes several well known fairy tales, and combines those stories with a new twist. The story and the music are genius! In the end the lesson that the main characters learn is, Actions have consequences–even for future generations, so be careful what you pass on to your children, because children will listen.
What better reason is there than to be in constant teaching mode?
Have you utilized non-Biblical stories as a resource to help influence your children to live a Biblical World View? Please share with us your experiences and the stories you’ve used.
You can follow Lisa on twitter @lisastrnad and she blogs regularly at talking like a girl.
