Idioms, Parables, and Other Teaching Tools

It’s All in the Delivery

My parents have both gone on to heaven but I still hear them speak. As I go about my day, encountering this challenge or that hardship, their words continue to guide me in my life’s journey. They employed a parenting technique that Jesus used when he taught spiritual truths – repetition and parables – relatable examples drawn from everyday life, all delivered with laughter and affection. Both were readers, but my Dad especially loved to use idioms, quotes, and passages from poems his teachers made him memorize to teach us truths by practical example. I have my Dad to blame for my excessive love of words, story, and quips.

Sage Advice is Always a Good Thing 

Sometimes I hear my dad speak a timely warning, reminding me, “Kitten, don’t judge anyone until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes.” What a different world we would be living in if we all remembered this one, right?

Proverbs 22:6: “Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.”

Or when I am tempted to make more out of a situation than it merits, I will picture my mother laughing at our childish antics while serving us, saying, “Now, don’t make a mountain out of a molehill.” She was teaching us not to exaggerate the severity of a situation.

Proverbs 31:26 “She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.”

Word Play

A popular idiom in usage when I was growing up was, “What’s up Buttercup?”

This was a popular way of greeting a friend and asking how they were doing. Did you know that there are articles that list creative ways to respond to certain English idioms depending on one’s mood? Out of the 30 ways listed to respond to “What’s up, Buttercup” in The Attraction Dictionary, I like these two the best:  “Basking in the sun, enjoying the glow,” or, “Counting my blessings, one petal at a time.” (If you have the time, there is also a list of responses to “What’s Shakin, Bacon?” one of which is, “Everything is as smooth as maple syrup,” meaning all is going well.)

Uh Oh

And then there were the times Dad would point out when we were wrong: “‘I don’t want to burst anyone’s bubble’, but …. Or, “Quit beating around the bush, out with it,” when I was trying to explain why I was sent home with a note from the principal.

And I remember the time he said, “Well, Kitten, ‘blood is thicker than water’,” when I questioned why my friend’s mother took her daughter’s side when I didn’t do a thing to make her cry (picture me stomping my foot with arms crossed).  I learned that sometimes life wouldn’t always make sense. Some relationships outweigh others.

Did anyone else hear the phrase ‘When in Rome, do as the Romans do’ when they were growing up? This one taught me the importance of adapting myself to the customs of others, like when we went to Aunt So and So’s and had to remove our shoes as soon as we entered their home. This always meant we had to be sure to wear clean socks without holes.

What’s my Point?

Sorry, I got a little lost in the Idiom weeds. My point is: deep truth can be conveyed in a simple way that is remembered for a lifetime. Jesus knew what He was doing when he used parables to teach deep spiritual truths to large groups of people. Rabbi’s employed the use of repetition and oral story-telling to help the Israelites pass down their history from generation to generation. And my mother and Dad taught me how to live through idioms and scriptural principles.

Through their gentle guidance, I learned “All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). “Just wait and see, this is going to turn out to be ‘a blessing in disguise.'”

Give it a Try

The next time you’re tempted to preach or lecture someone, consider sharing a truth with them in a different way that might be better received. They might learn to never let the cat out of the bag and to let sleeping dogs lie.

For further reading:

100 English Idioms and their meanings

Resources to help you and your children have fun with words