Why Teach Children About Spiritual Battle?
- Theresa Linden
- 6 hours ago
- 5 min read
Adults with faith recognize the spiritual battle. They see it in themselves and in the world. They understand Saint Paul in Romans 7:19 when he wrote, “For the good which I will, I do not; but the evil which I will not, that I do.” And they know the importance of fighting the good fight. It has eternal consequences.
Children Recognize the Battle
Children instinctively recognize this battle too, although not as clearly. They know when they’ve done something wrong, and they often react in ways that let us know too. Sometimes they compound the problem with little lies. Other times they show genuine remorse. If they don’t seem to recognize their fault at first, Mom or Dad can easily help them to see it. They want to do good, but they sometimes end up making bad choices. How can we help them grow stronger?
Old Testament Battles
We teach our children Bible stories that show the struggle between good and evil militarily. The Old Testament recounts many battles between the Israelites and various pagan peoples. When the people of God lived faithfully, no enemy could conquer them; they always received God’s help and came out victorious. But when the Israelites turned away from God and to false gods and immorality, they failed. They lost the battle and were brought into submission by their enemies.
As part of our homeschool religion curriculum, we read Bible stories and helped our boys retell the stories in their own words. Then they wrote and illustrated each story in a Bible journal. After several stories about the Israelites succeeding in battle, then turning away from God to idolatry and sin—resulting in devastating failure in battle—they grew impatient with Israel. “Again? Don’t they learn anything?”
This became a great opportunity to point out that we do the same thing. We want to be good and do the right thing, but then we make selfish choices and offend God—all over again. Only now, we are living under the New Covenant, so it’s a bigger deal.
New Testament Battles
We find the language of battle in the New Testament, too, often in Saint Paul’s writings, but these are not military battles. Now the language refers to the conflict inside us, the spiritual battle--the bigger deal. St. Paul writes to Timothy about fighting the good fight (1 Tim 6:11). He writes to the Ephesians Chapter 6 about putting on the armor of God to stand against the deceits of the devil. “For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against the rules of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places” (Ephesians 6:12). And he goes on to explain the different pieces of God’s armor. Revelations describes the spiritual battle, too, revealing the fight between St. Michael and the dragon. We come to see that the angels are on our side in the fight.
When I am struggling to overcome faults and grow in virtue, this imagery of battle, weapons, armor, and allies appeals to me. It speaks to children too. They recognize to some degree the battle going on inside them, and they want to be victorious.
Teach Them with Stories
We can teach them about this battle directly from the Bible, from catechism lessons, and by our example. And we can support what they are learning through virtue-rich stories.
Jesus often taught people through stories. Stories are the basic way we make sense of our world. They can help readers process their own challenges, empathize with characters, find wholesome role models, and problem-solve— all within the safety of a fictional setting. Then they can inspire readers to practice what they’ve learned, imitating a characters’ good examples, in some cases. Virtue-driven stories where characters struggle to do the right thing—and in the end succeed—can help children to fight the spiritual battle more intentionally.
Here's an Example
Take the first piece of armor in Ephesians for an example: the Belt of Truth. Children understand truth vs. lies. They might not think through their actions or think before they speak when they want something or want to hide something they’ve done wrong—so a lie slips out. But share a story with them where characters struggle with truthfulness and learn the value of it, and watch children internalize the moral lessons.
Through a story children follow characters as they fail and face consequences and then try again and succeed. They see the importance of practicing virtue. They see how characters master virtue. The next time they are tempted to lie, they will likely think more about consequences, failure, and victory. Maybe they’ll think about earning those spiritual pieces of armor in Ephesians.
But is it too Hard?
We are weak. And we are born with fallen human nature. It can be hard to do the right thing. To quote Saint Paul again, “For the good which I will, I do not; but the evil which I will not, that I do” (Romans 7:19). It is true that on our own, we are destined to fail. “But thanks be to God, who has given us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57).
Jesus makes everything possible. When He died on the cross, He won the grace for us. And He built His Church to give us powerful channels of grace, especially through the sacraments.
To show the People of God under the Old Covenant how He expected them to live, He gave them the Ten Commandments. Christians are the new Israel, the new People of God. The New Covenant is far superior to the Old, and God calls us to a higher degree of faithfulness. He calls us to be saints. “You shall be holy, for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:16).
If our goal is holiness and heaven, we will spend our whole lives correcting our behaviors, so let us teach children how to do this in their formative years. Teach them to deny themselves in little ways, so they can deny temptations when they come. Teach them to strive after virtue.
Brother Coll’s Catechism Lessons
When children try and fail at virtue, we don’t want them to give up or feel like they just can’t do it. We can’t do this on our own, but with God all things are possible (see Matt 19:26). Let us direct our children to the help that Jesus gives us through His Church. Let us teach them about the strength they can receive through the sacraments, especially Confession and Holy Communion. And let us provide them with role models they can relate to.
Between chapters in my Armor of God fantasy-adventure series, readers will find Brother Coll’s Catechism Lessons. These lessons make clear how Jesus gave us the sacraments to help us in the spiritual battle. They help us to put on the armor of God.
This series shows the struggle. And it will inspire children to pursue virtue, while revealing how Jesus helps us through prayer and the sacraments.
Theresa Linden is the author of award-winning Catholic fiction. She loves our Catholic faith, especially the unique aspects of it: the saints, the Eucharist, even Confession! Growing up in a military family and moving every few years, left her with the impression that life is an adventure. She rarely gets to travel anymore, but she loves to write, so the adventures continue through her stories. Her faith inspires the belief that there is no greater adventure than the realities we can’t see, the spiritual side of life. She hopes her stories will spark readers' imaginations, and lead them to appreciate the richness, depth, and mystery of our Catholic faith and of the power of faith and grace.
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