With small children, of course, it’s pretty easy. Your size and age will give them reason to think you’re one of those “big people who knows everything.” To a preschool kid, a young teen looks like an adult. It’s pretty easy to start reading the Bible with them, teaching them to pray, and so on. They’re very impressionable.
Hope isn’t lost if the kids in question are older, of course, But, you have to give them more of a reason to follow you. Let’s use chores as an example. A child of five will probably be thrilled to get some made-up royal title – Duke of Wastebasket Management, for instance. A few years older, though, and that young person will probably need more of an explanation as to why their help is needed in doing chores.
Of course, I’ve known of children at age five who will expect reasons, and I’ve known kids of eleven and twelve who enjoy such things as stickers for doing a good job. As the car ads used to say – before gas prices became so high it didn’t really matter any more – your mileage may vary. With some kids, it varies day to day.
When it comes to spiritual things, some of the remarks I directed toward single mothers also apply to you. Have you just gotten saved? If so, congratulations! Have you just dedicated your life to Christ? Again, congratulations!
Whether or not one of those two applies, tell your siblings the same way you learned about Jesus. Tell them that God loves them, and you are going to try hard to be like Him in how you act. And, that you will try hard to be a humble leader. You will read the Bible and continue to grow yourself. And, as I said in an earlier section, if you have messed up, apologize and challenge them and yourself to stay on the right path.
And, let them help you to stay on that right path if you can. That will help them to feel more involved in the work. Remember the example of the three-year-old who was able to just recite house rules to defuse a fight? Don’t be afraid to let a younger sibling say, “I don’t think Jesus would want you to watch that.” It should be you making those decisions. But, God knows we all mess up once in a while. So, He gave us small children to blurt things out without thinking if they see something wrong.
