This afternoon Beth and I sat down and watched some Leave it to Beaver. When Beaver overheard Ward tell June that they were “heading to the poor house” because of the phone bill, Beaver went into panic mode. He asked his dad where the poor house was, who lived there, and what life was like there. When Ward told Beaver there were no more poor houses, Beaver didn’t understand.

Isn’t it amazing how literally kids take things? If you tell a kid that they might go to the poor house, they will believe you. Think about the things we tell them at church, like Jesus sitting on the right hand of God, or Jesus living in your heart. Since kids are so literal in their thinking, carefully choose the terminology you use. When you come to those hard-to-understand concepts and ideas, take time to explain them.