This article is dedicated to the blessed Christian theme. How does a child understand what it means to be an Orthodox person? This, on the one hand, is a very difficult question, and on the other, everything can be explained only with examples from life. Books and classes alone will not be enough. How can a schoolchild instill love for God, a neighbor? This will be described below.
Adults are an example for children
A child is born without sins. After all, a newborn cannot insult someone, offend and hate someone. From the age of three, when the baby is already beginning to pay attention to the world around him, get acquainted with it, his worldview is formed according to what is here and now.
After 3-5 years, the child begins to learn both good and bad. Often children begin to fight in the sandbox, call bad names. Where does this come from? Even if one child has a friendly family, but the other mother and father are constantly scandalous, the latter can now copy the behavior of the parents and pass the negativity to their friends in the sandbox. And so the chain develops.
Starting from the age of 7, a child should be able to distinguish good deeds from bad ones. What does it mean to be an Orthodox person? The answers to this question lie precisely in the actions, actions of any person.
Kind heart and good deeds
The Orthodox Christian often comes to the priest in the temple to repent of their sins. Which ones? In all. Sins are meant not only bad deeds (hit, killed, stolen), but also a state of mind (hatred, anger, irritation, envy). Parents should themselves be kind, affectionate and caring people. Is it really Christian, when a mother screams at a child, thrashing, and he cries for the whole district for an hour? Of course not. If the child was naughty, then parents should act wisely, punish carefully and without scandals. Often children inherit the nature and habits of their parents.
A child from the age of seven is allowed to confession. What does it mean to be an Orthodox person in this case? Love the Lord God and all people, animals, birds. After all, love is manifested not only in caring, but also in compassion, help, comfort.
The apostle Paul once explained what Christian love is, in which it is expressed. Namely: love cannot envy, demand, adjust to oneself, hate, be exalted over someone, rejoice at the sorrows of one's neighbor or be upset when he is happy. The Holy Apostle said many more words on this subject.
How to write an essay
Not every school teachers touch on the topic of Orthodoxy. It is especially difficult to perceive this to the child who grew up in an atheistic family or who was brought up by Gentiles, including Old Believers. How, then, to carefully explain to children what it means to be an Orthodox person? The answer for grade 4, where children still have little understanding, not only in spiritual life, but also in everyday life, can only be given through actions. How? Teach them to respect each other. Practically in any class, pranks, quarrels, insults happen. It is important to teach children to respect each other. Who in the classroom constantly offends someone? Let the offender understand that you must not do this. He needs to explain what heartache is. Offended should be advised not to give in, immediately forgive, forget and make peace. After all, evil has the property of being heated, it is very painful to burn.
A short essay "What does it mean to be an Orthodox person?" help children develop a sense of comprehension. What does it mean? Not every adult understands why he lives. It's time to think about what life should be like in order to live it profitably. It happens that an old man before death admits that he does not want to die and is scared, because he did little good, did not repent before God, and never thought of Him at all. The soul of the dying man feels that it is to the Lord that she will go to judgment.
Let young children learn to love God and their families, friends, and even enemies. After all, Jesus Christ loved and loves absolutely everyone, even those who killed him.
The Importance of Visiting the Temple
Adults do not always think about why they attend a temple. Is it just because it is necessary? This is wrong thinking. There is a funny caricature on the Internet: a temple is painted on the left and on the right, the inscription "to the temple" is written on the right - and there are hundreds of people, on the left it says "to God" - and there are only about five people. What is this talking about? A hundred people go to the temple, just to put candles, write notes, chat. And that small part of people comes to the temple to pray to God.
Children need to be taught to fellowship with the Lord, to pray. This will help preliminary preparation. For example, the children's Bible and the lives of saints. They perfectly talk about what it means to be an Orthodox person. For children, everything should be interesting, otherwise there will be no sense.
Obedience
It is important for a Christian to be obedient to someone. It is impossible to go with the flow without guidance from above. A small child should obey parents, carers. If this is not, then he will be in danger. The soul of an Orthodox person is in danger, if he undertakes to independently lead himself in life. To avoid this, you need to have a spiritual mentor in the person of a parish priest or an old man, for example.
It is important for children to obey not only relatives, but also the priest in the church. What does it mean to be an Orthodox person during obedience? For example, a priest in a confession will tell the child to stop offending a classmate, because this is bad, God does not like his act. This is obedience from the confessor. Parents can say the same thing. And that will be obedience. But why can’t you offend a classmate from a spiritual point of view, the father can explain.
Once again, you can recall the importance of expressing your thoughts, ideas. What does it mean to be an Orthodox person? Let the children write an essay-discussion on a similar topic specifically about kindness of heart and love for God.
Lives of the saints
A wonderful example of Christian life will be life. What is it? To be brief, this is a biography of a holy man. But such a work is not written as simple information, but as a life textbook for Orthodox Christians who want to learn how to live for real. A holy man in life pleased God, served Him. The author tells about this, gives examples of his exploits, good deeds and, of course, talks about miracles. It is important for a contemporary to know what it means to be an Orthodox person. A summary of the lives of the saints will help to understand. There is no need to go deep into ascetic teachings in order to understand what love for God and neighbor is.
Both children and adults, if they wish, can become Christians. It is important to remember that love starts small. The world around us needs good people. The Holy Church will tell about what it means to be Orthodox, and will teach this through the Gospel, the lives of saints.