Train Your Teenager to Serve Jehovah

TEACH HUMILITY BY YOUR EXAMPLE

Though Jesus was a perfect man, he humbly acknowledged his limitations and reliance on Jehovah.  (Read John 5:19.) Did Jesus' humility weaken his disciples' respect for him?  Not at all.  In fact, the more he relied on Jehovah, the more his disciples trusted him. Later, they imitated Jesus' humility. -Acts 3:12, 13, 16.

We have many limitations, and unlike Jesus, we are imperfect and make mistakes.  Humbly acknowledge your limitations and admit your mistakes.  (1 John 1:8)  After all, whom do you respect more? A boss who admits he is wrong or one who does not apologize?  When your teenager hears you apologize for your mistakes, his respect for you is likely increased.  He may also learn to admit his own errors.   "We admitted our mistakes, and that moved our children to open up to us when they had a problem," says Rosemary, a mother of three grown children.  "We realized our limitations, so we taught our children where to find the best solution  to their problems.  When they needed help, we always referred them to our Bible-based literature, and we prayed together." 

Jesus had the authority to issue commands to his followers. Humbly, though, he often gave reasons for a command.  For example, he did not just tell his followers to seek first the Kingdom and God's righteousness but said:  "And all these other things will be added to you."   After saying,  "Stop judging,"  Jesus gave this reason:  "That you may not be judged; for with the judgment you are judging, you will also be judged." -Matthew 6:31;7:2. 

When appropriate explain the reasons behind a rule or a decision you make.  If a teenager understands  your thinking on the matter, he is more likely to obey you from a willing heart.  "Giving reasons helps teenagers to trust you because  they see that your decisions are not arbitrary or capricious but reasonable," says Barry, who raised four children. A  teenager is also maturing into an adult with his own "power of reason." (Romans 12:1) Barry explains:  "Teenagers need to learn to make sensible decisions based on reason rather than emotion." (Psalm 119:34) when you humbly give reasons for your decisions, your adolescent can sense that you recognized that he is progressing toward maturity, and he learns to make his own decisions with his own "power of reason." 

Next time: Train Your Teenager to Serve Jehovah - SHOW INSIGHT, AND UNDERSTAND YOUR TEENAGER

From The Watchtower magazine