Mrs. Pastor: Teach...don't preach

God is very careful with His choice of words. Talking about our children, He has always stressed that we teach them, not preach to them. Let's look at the place of first mention:

Genesis 18:19 - For I have known (chosen, acknowledged) him [as My own], so that he may teach and command his children and the sons of his house after him to keep the way of the Lord and to do what is just and righteous, so that the Lord may bring Abraham what He has promised him. (Amplified, emphasis mine)

In Deut 6:6-7 God, commanding His people the Israelites, said:

"Always remember these commands that I give you today. Be sure to teach them to your children. Talk about these commands when you sit in your house and when you walk on the road. Talk about them when you lie down and when you get up." (Easy-to-Read Version, emphasis mine)

Then, the popular verse:
Proverbs 22:6 - Teach children how they should live, and they will remember it all their life.

(Good News Translation)

Unfortunately, too many of us preach to rather than teach our children - then wonder why they don't seem to get it. I looked up both words - here's what I found:

"Teach" means to

show or explain to (someone) how to do something.
encourage someone to accept (something) as a fact or principle.
cause (someone) to learn or understand something by example or experience.

"Preach" means to:

publicly proclaim or teach (a religious message or belief).
earnestly advocate (a belief or course of action).
give moral advice to someone in an annoying or pompously self-righteous way.

Can you imagine if your schol teachers were "school preachers"? If mine were, I'm almost certain that I wouldn't be able to (or even want to) read. In fact, I may not have had this privilege of typing (and hopefully, teaching) this.

As I type this, I remember (with a smile on my face and a warm glow in my heart) when my soon-to-be-teenager son was tiny and we had to cut his food into his , not our, bite sizes. Giving him chunks of food he couldn't hold let alone chew would have been a put-off. In fact, those were the days when I learnt from experience that patience is not just a virtue, it's a verb.

Likewise, we all need to make and take the time to teach our children - at their level. Look back to when you became born-again... you couldn't chew strong meat, let alone crack bones.
It must have been the pure and simple milk* of the word of God that you used (as needed) to grow and strengthen your teeth for the stronger meat and bones you hopefully consume regularly now. Well, that was the case for me.

Now, this is not to say that there's no place for preaching. Far from it; after all, even Jesus taught and preached** (do you ever wonder why the past tense is not "praught?") and He commanded that we also preach and teach.*** So did Paul.****

The point here is that, we must never forget that our children need us to be their parents more than they need Pastor or Mrs. Pastor. Obviously, God knew that we may fall into this hence Eph 6:4***** was written to guide us.

One more thing that just struck me is that "Parent" (and even "Father" & "Mother") come before "Pastor" in the dictionary. So please "parent" before you "pastor" your children. God help us.

References:
*1 Peter 2:2

As newborn babies want milk, you should want the pure and simple teaching. By it you can mature in your salvation, (NCV)

Instead, like a newborn baby, desire the pure milk of the word. Nourished by it, you will grow into salvation, (CEB)

**Matt 11: 1- When Jesus finished telling His twelve followers what to do, He went away from there to teach and preach in their towns. (New Life Version)

***Matt 28: 18-20 - So he came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth is given to me. So go and make followers of all people in the world. Baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach them to obey everything that I have told you to do. You can be sure that I will be with you always. I will continue with you until the end of time.” (ERV)
Jesus came and said to them,“All power has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go and make followers of all the nations. Baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.nTeach them to do all the things I have told you. And I am with you always, even to the end of the world.” (NLV)

****2 Tim 4:2

Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching. (NLT)

Tell everyone God’s message. Be ready at all times to do whatever is needed. Tell people what they need to do, tell them when they are doing wrong, and encourage them. Do this with great patience and careful teaching. (ERV)

*****Eph 6:4