I have had the privilege of teaching in different Christian Science Sunday Schools over many years. This has shown me how well children respond to consideration, compassion, and love.
Once I had a misbehaving child in my class, who was a disruption. Loving, principled discipline seemed to make no difference, so I prayed to know how I might reach this child. When I asked his parents what interested the boy, they said boats and space travel, so I made an effort to involve the child in discussions on these topics. I also prayed to see only good in him, as Genesis 1:31 states, “And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.” This resulted in a sea change: The boy became rightly energized and more serious, and the bad behavior stopped. This was a blessing for the other pupils in the class, too, as his behavior had involved them as well. If we can see the good in folk—all folk—see only God’s nature in them, this helps change human behavior.
Children respond to consideration, compassion, and love.
