Teaching Truth To Kids

Teaching Kids About Truth Episode 422

We all want our kids to tell the truth, and it is time that we focus on teaching truth. How do we do this? How do we teach our children to discern what is true in our toxic culture? Well gather the kids – this is another just for kids and teens this time, episode.

Please visit my website at MediaAngels.com and be sure to sign up for our monthly planners. We have new character planners each month, and this month it is on the topic of Tolerance. This planner has some fun activities that you can do with your children and I think parents really appreciate the page with scenarios. I ask the children questions that they can act out or write their answers. They are open-ended. At the end of the month, the children can even earn a character award that is provided. After the month is over you can only get the planners by purchase on the Media Angels website.

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So what is truth?

Hey kids! I know your mom probably thinks this is a good podcast for you to listen to and I am sure you are thinking – “What is this lady talking about I already know what truth is…” and you know what? You probably do, but not only am I going to talk to you about truth, I am going to talk to you about lies and I am going to ask you a bunch of questions. I hope that you write these questions down and you use them to see if you can learn to be better about not only telling the truth but spotting lies when you are told lies by other people.

And, I want to show you why truth is important and how twisting something just a little bit can really change the way people think about something. And, the example I am going to use here is Climate. [In this episode I am not going to go into Climate Change – because I already did one that you can listen to here.]

So, first I think it is important to care about our climate. It is important to be good stewards over our land and this earth. We don’t throw garbage out the window do we? We put it in the trash. We do not pollute on purpose, we do our part. So, why am I talking about climate? What does that have to do with truth? Well, I want to walk you through the way a little lie can hurt us and make us think something that is not true.

Talk about climate began when I was in school. Pollution was bad in some cities and people thought we should care for our environment. It was a good thing to learn to take care of our planet so what did I learn that was bad? I learned that if we did not hurry up and do something that in ten years all the polar bears would be gone and all the ice would melt in the artic and the Southpole. This was in the 1970s and in the year 2021 we still have polar bears and we still have icebergs. What did this lie do? It caused us to be afraid. I wrote many papers and did a big project on this topic. How do you think I feel now knowing the truth? Again I don’t want to go into the climate aspect here because I want to focus on the lie – the lie caused me to fear. Scientists didn’t really know. It was a guess, and not a very educated guess. They caused the kids in the 70s and beyond to fear.

The idea here is that we have to understand the motivation that goes into what people say. Why would people say this? What was the reason? That is something to talk to your parents about… why would people say something that is false? Why would people say things that cause kids to fear?

Let’s look at another example. The Green New Deal. The people who want the Green New Deal for example said the world would end in 12 years. The green new deal is six pages long and you can read it for yourself on a Congressional website – if it is not there look at the Congressional archives, they keep copies there. Later this person said they were only kidding–especially when people pushed back and said this was not true. But why would someone say this? What is the motivation? Is a politician allowed to lie? Does it make it okay if they are just kidding?

Let’s dig a little further, what does this deal talk about? It talks about getting rid of all cows, getting rid of airplanes, getting rid of billionaires, and having a universal wage – that means all people make the same amount of money. What does that have to do with pollution, what does that have to do with saving the environment? If we get rid of airplanes how would we travel? Train? Bus? Car? Again what is the motivation – why would someone say something like this? Are people afraid? Yes, some people are especially if you are in public schools you hear a lot of information about climate change.

I heard that our world would not have polar bears in ten years in the 1970s and was afraid for our world. Kids today are being told it will be 12 years until our world ends. This is not the truth, this is not science, this is to cause you to fear.

What is truth? Some people think it has to do with how your feel about something. That is not right. Truth has to do with facts and reality – or what is real. Truth can not be subjective. Let’s talk about the word subjective. Subjective truth would be that truth is what you think it is. So, is it okay if I think it is true to take your money? Or to take something else that belongs to you? No, of course not – so that means subjective truth is not right.

What about lying for a greater cause – like when you ask your mother if they bought you something for your birthday and Christmas and they say no, and then later you get what you asked for? Is it okay to lie about this? The bigger question here is it right for you to set up your parents to lie by asking something because you can not wait to find out the answer? Think about this.

So, do you see that by using words you can twist things and make them more than what they are? What does truth mean to you? Do you know? What is it that you believe in? A starting point is helpful. I know what I believe and I believe that all truth comes from a Creator God. If God is the truth then anything can be held up to the ten commandments, or the Bible.

Can you imagine living in a world where absolute truth does not exist? What is truth? At the time of Jesus, this very question was raised by Pontius Pilate As Jesus stood before him waiting to be tried for something he did not do, absolute truth did not exist in the world of Pilate — he felt he could do whatever he wanted if he had enough money, power, and control over the people. Pontius Pilate had truth standing right before him and he could not recognize it. Even non-believers believe that Jesus was innocent when he was crucified. If you are a Christian, look up all of the verses that teach about truth in the Bible. There are some very strong Scriptures verses about this and the sin of lying.

Little kids tend to lie. You can look at a little kid and watch them take a cookie and there are crumbs all over the place and on their face and you can ask, did you take a cookie? And the child will shake his head no, and say they did not even with the evidence all over their face. Why do people lie? For many reasons, but probably the biggest is for fear of rejection or to keep from getting in trouble.

Think about this – why do you lie? What is the reason or motivation behind a lie? Have you thought about this before? I was in third grade and I was in trouble with my mother, and she put me in my room. I was in my room screaming at the top of my lungs that I. Did. Not. Do. It! In fact, I was screaming this over and over again and my throat began to get sore. It finally hit me — wait! I did do it, why am I screaming. I believe that was by the grace of God. I always prayed as a kid and felt I could talk to God. God showed me as I was pitching a fit in time-out in my bedroom that I was guilty of sin. I later apologized to my parents and all was forgiven. Has that ever happened to you?

If that happens to you that means you are becoming wise, you are standing up for what is right and just, you are starting to see that there is truth in your heart and your life will change for the better.

Or if you lie and get caught you might say, “Sorry, I was kidding or sorry, it was an accident.” If you do this think about the politician that lied about the world ending in 12 years and later said, I was kidding. That is the same as saying, “Oops it was an accident.” When you really know, deep down in your heart that it was not an accident or you were not kidding but if you say it was you can get away with not being punished. This is a lie. Who are you lying to? Well, your parents but more important you are lying to yourself.

What happens when you lie to yourself. You begin to see things with yourself in the center. If it is the truth that means you are doing something to someone else, but when it is false, it is when someone is doing something to you. It is all about you–is this right? Do you know anyone who puts only themself first? How do you feel about this?

Can you recognize the truth? Do you know when someone is lying to you? How do you feel when someone lies to you? Think about this. Write these questions down, and really think. The next question is that when someone lies to you what do you want to do? Do you want to call them out? Do you want to scream, “Liar?” What is the right way to handle it. I’m going to give you a hint here, screaming liar is not the right way.

I want you to take the next few weeks and listen to people talking and see if you can figure out if they are telling the truth or not. But here is what I want you to do — you must not tell a lie. If you can look at someone else and spot the truth, they can do the same thing to you–and you want to be the one telling the truth. If you see someone telling a lie, what will you do? It is best not to say anything unless it will hurt someone. For example, telling a little kid to stand on a high step stool that is wobbly to get down the snacks your mom hid up in the closet so you could tell your mom the truth that you were not the one who got the snacks down — this is not being truthful. Get it?

Kids, can I tell you a fun-fact here? Your mom, your dad, your grandparents, your aunts and uncles — they were all your age at one time. They already lived their lives and know what you are up. Sometimes kids think parents or adults don’t get them and don’t understand. Oh, yes! We get you and we remember what it was like to be a kid – and it was not always easy.

Truthfulness is hard, it takes work and it is the most rewarding thing you will ever do. Truth means apologizing when you are wrong and you tell a lie, and realize this is not right. Truth makes us free and it allows us to lead lives that have no guilt because we have nothing to hide. I pray that you can live lives with nothing to hide!