The Importance of Children Having Responsibility
“If you want to keep your feet on the ground, carry some responsibility on your shoulders.”
(E. C. McKenzie from 1800 Quotable Quotes.)
Lamentations 3:27 It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is young. (New International Version)
I recently read an article written by the president of Stanford University. He obviously wrote the article because he was finding people coming to university unprepared for the responsibilities that await them. Here are the 8 responsibilities that he says every child should have. I have only written the paragraph titles. I encourage you to go to the article and read each paragraph.
1. An 18-year-old must be able to talk to strangers.
2. An 18-year-old must be able to find his way around.
3. An 18-year-old must be able to manage his assignments, workload, and deadlines.
4. An 18-year-old must be able to contribute to the running of a household.
5. An 18-year-old must be able to handle interpersonal problems.
6. An 18-year-old must be able to cope with ups and downs.
7. An 18-year-old must be able to earn and manage money.
8. An 18-year-old must be able to take risks.
As a children’s minister I highly encourage you to use the children in responsible positions. Use them as puppeteers. Use them as greeters, in craft time and in clean-up time. We need to do this so that the next generation will be ready to carry the torch for the Lord.
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