Although Christians are called to respect people’s comfort zones in contexts that involve treating people in a considerate way, Christians should teach their children to step outside of their own when a comfort zone prevents them from helping someone only because of discomfort.
For the child who pushes through her comfort zone to reach out to a classmate, it is a memorable decision that helps that child begin to learn what it means to live a Christian life.
As more people from the public become Christian for the first time, there will be questions about how to raise children to lead Christian lives. One of the most valuable lessons to teach a child involves comfort zones. Although Christians are called to respect people’s comfort zones in contexts that involve treating people in a considerate way, Christians should teach their children to step outside of their own when a comfort zone prevents them from helping someone only because of discomfort.
For example, an adolescent daughter may come home and tell her parents that a girl from class asked her to come to a birthday party but that she is planning to turn down the invitation because her friends aren’t going, they said she is boring, and only one other girl from class might go. This example is similar to many scenarios in which a child is uncomfortable reaching out to another child who is not liked for superficial or contrived reasons. However, teaching children to step outside their comfort zones in these situations can make a real difference in the life of another child. For the little girl who is going to have a birthday party, it can mean the difference between a party with guests and a party without them, and those memories stay with a person. For the child who pushes through her comfort zone to reach out to a classmate, it is a memorable decision that helps that child begin to learn what it means to live a Christian life.
In fact, the scenario above follows children into their teenage years and adult lives.
Situations continue to arise where someone needs a hand in an uncomfortable situation. As teenagers and adults, those who learned how to push through their comfort zones in their youth are more likely to help that person while those who never learned how to cross that boundary line often remain less likely to try.