When Children Hear the Wrong Voices: Helping a Community Point Little Hearts Back to Jesus
- Tearri Rivers
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
Children are listening.
They are listening when adults speak with love.
They are listening when adults speak out of frustration.
They are listening when someone tells the truth.
They are listening when someone excuses what is wrong.
They are listening when grown-ups say one thing but live another way.
This is why community matters.
Children are not only shaped by what happens at home.
They are also shaped by classrooms, churches, childcare centers, family gatherings, neighborhoods, friendships, and every adult voice that has influence in their lives.
In the companion reel, Moxie asks a very honest question:
“Who should I listen to when people say things that I know are wrong and do not go along with what Jesus is teaching me?”
She does not want to name names, and she does not have to.
Sometimes children do not know how to explain what they are hearing, but they can feel when something does not sound like love, truth, or obedience to Jesus.
That is why we must teach children to recognize the voice of Jesus.
John 10:27 (NIV) says:
“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”
Jesus’ voice leads children into truth.
Jesus’ voice leads children into love.
Jesus’ voice leads children into obedience.
Jesus’ voice leads children into safety.
Jesus’ voice does not lead them into confusion, disrespect, dishonesty, cruelty, or rebellion.
But this lesson is not only for children. It is also for the adults around them.
As a community, we must ask ourselves:
Are our words helping children hear Jesus more clearly?
Are our actions pointing them toward truth?
Are we making obedience to Jesus easier for them to understand?
Are we showing them love by what we say and do?
Jesus speaks very seriously about the responsibility adults carry when it comes to children.
Matthew 18:6 (NIV) warns that anyone who causes one of His little ones to stumble faces serious accountability before God.
“If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.
That is not a small warning.
That is a holy responsibility.
Children should never be placed in a position where they have to choose between following Jesus and following the wrong example of an adult.
Yet many children experience this quietly.
They may hear adults gossip, lie, mock, manipulate, excuse sin, speak harshly, or teach them to ignore what they know is right.
And sometimes, like Moxie, children also have to learn the difference between truth and their own desires.
In the reel, Moxie admits something important:
“Sometimes I like not doing the righteous things.”
That part matters too.
Not every moment of resistance is because someone is teaching a child wrong.
Sometimes children do not want to obey because obedience is hard.
Sometimes they want their own way.
Sometimes their hearts need guidance, correction, and loving discipleship.
This is why children need safe, faithful adults who will help them ask:
Is this wrong because it does not line up with what Jesus teaches?
Or am I struggling because I do not want to obey what is right?
That kind of heart work takes community.
Parents need support.
Teachers need support.
Children need consistent examples.
Churches need to take children seriously.
Communities need to protect children’s hearts, not just manage their behavior.
When a child says, “That does not sound like Jesus,” we should not dismiss it.
We should listen.
We should help them test what they hear against God’s Word.
We should teach them to honor adults, but never to follow what is wrong.
Honor does not mean ignoring truth.
Respect does not mean obeying sin.
Kindness does not mean pretending something harmful is okay.
A healthy community teaches children that Jesus is the voice we follow above every other voice.
This does not mean we teach children to be rude or rebellious.
It means we teach them to be rooted.
We teach them that when they are unsure, they can pray, ask a safe grown-up, open God’s Word, and listen for the voice of Jesus.
Because children need more than rules.
They need truth.
They need protection.
They need examples.
They need adults who are willing to examine their own hearts.
A community that loves children well does not just ask, “Are the children listening?”
It also asks, “What are we teaching them to hear?”
May our homes, classrooms, churches, and communities become places where children can recognize the voice of Jesus clearly.
May our words not confuse them.
May our actions not cause them to stumble.
May our correction be loving.
May our examples be faithful.
May our children learn that when the world gets loud, Jesus is still the voice worth following.
Companion Reel: Moxie Asks: Who Should I Listen To?
Closing Reflection: Children are listening to the voices around them. As a community, may we make sure our voices help them hear Jesus.
Scripture Focus:
John 10:27 (NIV) — “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”
Matthew 18:6 (NIV) — A serious reminder that adults are accountable for how they influence the little ones who believe in Jesus.
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