Shall I make my child go to Sunday School? YES!! Are you startled at such an abrupt answer? Why? How do you answer your daughter when she comes to breakfast on Monday morning and announces that she is not going to school? That's simple! She goes anyway. Or how about your son, after a sweaty ball game practice, when he lets you know that he is not going to take a shower before supper? He takes one anyway, right?
So then, why are we so hesitant when it comes to spiritual discipline and growth? Why do we feel that it will "warp" or "pressure" our children if we insist on Sunday School and Church? We have no problem insisting on school attendance, homework, the dentist's office, or ball practice.
Obviously, from this inconsistency, our children soon learn that we "make" them do what is important. Therefore, Christian Education and worship must not be so important as other life-style habits. In the long run, in terms of the eternal issues of our existence, is this the message we want to teach?
What, then, will we say when our children announce they do not want to go to Sunday School and Church? The answer is easy: be as consistent in the discipline as you are in the other important experiences of life. Tell them, "In our home, we all go to Sunday School and worship, and that includes you." It may not be appreciated at the moment, but with the attitude of parental interest, even joy-filled participation, you will make an impact on the development of their value structure which will last a lifetime … and beyond.
The Rev. Malcom Hughes Anglican Digest