The definition of wisdom is ‘seeing and responding to life situations from God’s frame of reference’. We must begin early to teach our children this, so they will be able to make wise choices and avoid many pitfalls in life.
Scripture is clear as to how we learn wisdom. It all starts with a reverence for the Lord. So start at the very beginning to teach this foundational quality to your children.
Here is a lesson plan on wisdom from my book Here a Little, There a Little. It is designed to spend a week on the Bible verse, reading Bible stories that illustrate the verse and doing activities to make the verse practical in the child’s life. Read the stories from a children’s Bible or tell it in your own words.
Bible Verse: Proverbs 9:10 Reverence for the Lord is the beginning of wisdom
Bible Stories:
Exodus 3:1-4:12 Moses kept the sheep for his father-in-law. One day as he was watching the sheep, Moses saw a bush on fire but not burning up. When he went closer, he heard God speaking to him from it. God told him to take off his shoes because he was walking on holy ground. Moses obeyed and even hid his face from God because he knew how important God is. God was pleased with the reverence Moses had for Him. He told Moses He had a special job for him to do, but not to be afraid to go and do it. God promised to be with Moses and to give him wisdom to know what to do and say. Moses reverence God and God gave him wisdom. Reverence for the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
Psalm 119:15 A man in the Bible had respect for God. He learned to respect/reverence God by reading God’s Word. The Bible teaches us to have reverence for God and it gives us wisdom. This man in the Bible told God, “I will study Your Word and have respect for Your ways. Let’s tell God that too then we will be showing reverence for God which is the beginning of wisdom.
Matthew 21:12-13 We can show reverence for God by the way we treat God’s house. Jesus got angry with some men when they did not show reverence for God in His house. They were making money in God’s house instead of praying. They were not showing reverence for God. Jesus told them to get out of God’s house because it was a house of prayer and should be respected. We can show reverence for God in His house by not running inside or throwing paper on the floor? What are some other ways we can show reverence?
Luke 4:16-21 Jesus went to church one day and they gave Him the Bible to read to everyone. Jesus stood up to read. That was one way for Him to show reverence for God and His Word. As He read the Bible, all the people showed their reverence for God by listening. If we want to be wise and know the right things to do, we must have a reverence for God and listen whenever anyone is reading the Bible.
2 Samuel 6:1-7 David and a man named Uzzah were moving a holy piece of furniture from God’s house. God had said that they were not to touch it so they had it on a cart being pulled by animals. Uzzah did not respect what God had said and he touched the piece of furniture. God had to punish him for not showing reverence. If we show reverence for God by obeying Him, He gives us wisdom, not punishment.
Prayer: Teach us to respect You so that we may make wise choices
Activities:
- Find a picture of someone kneeling as they pray and talk about how they are showing reverence for God. Possibly make a puzzle out of the picture.
- Find picture of someone reading the Bible and others listening. Talk about how the listeners are showing reference for God
- Make a card game:
Make up cards of things that are wise and are showing reverence to God and things that are not:
Ex. – Wise: listen to Bible story, talk to God in prayer , walk in church, sit quietly in church, be gentle with their Bible
Ex. – Unwise: talk when others are reading the Bible, running inside church, leave paper on floor or bench in church, not praying
Cut out 2 paper people and label wise and unwise
Take turns drawing cards and putting them on the appropriate person.
Song: (tune of Mary Had a Little Lamb) Reverence for the Lord, for the Lord, for the Lord, Reverence for the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.