Teaching Kids Courage with Proverbs 28:1

Courage… it’s more than the epic image of the hero standing up against the villain. Or the brave knight facing the dragon. For kids, that kind of courage is exciting, but real-life courage often looks different.

It may be telling the truth even when it’s hard, owning up to a mistake, or trying again after failing.

In this episode of The Savvy & Craig Show, the toons find themselves in a situation where they, too, must find courage. The lights go out, mysterious sounds echo through the night, and everyone wonders if something dangerous is in the house.

Axel shows us what false bravery looks like: talking big but when the moment comes requiring true bravery, he dives to safety.

Dante on the other hand is clearly scared. He doesn’t feel bold. He’s not even the one someone would pick as the “brave one.” But that’s when something changes.

Proverbs 28:1 “The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion.”

It’s an important and helpful picture for kids. Courage isn’t being the loudest person in the room, it’s also not pretending things aren’t scary. True, biblical courage is rooted in something deeper.

It comes from doing what is right. It’s why the proverb says “the righteous are bold as a lion.”

That matters because for kids, bravery doesn’t mean they don’t feel nervous, unsure, or uncomfortable. If courage truly meant that we never feel scared, then we probably wouldn’t be very courageous.

But when courage is rooted in a heart that says “I can take the next step because I want to honor God, and I trust Him.” Then courage becomes something they can practice.

They can practice it when they admit they made a mistake.
They can practice it when they choose kindness instead of following the crowd.
They can practice it when they ask for help.
They can practice it when they tell the truth.
They can practice it when they do what is right, even if it feels hard.

To put this into practice, whenever your child is facing something difficult, you can simply ask: “what’s the right thing to do here?”

It shifts from them thinking about survival, or how they can get away with a poor decision, and helps them reframe the challenge by starting their decision process from a place of honoring God.

In the episode below, the scary sound turns out to just be Craig snoring. Which is funny and unexpected, but the lesson still lands. Because often, it’s the opposite of courage that magnifies the issue to something bigger than it really is. It’s that fear that causes us to oversell the problem.

And even better? We have help to live a life of courage, a life where we choose to honor God and trust Him no matter what. That help comes from Jesus. He truly helps us live a life of courage, not found in ourselves, but in Him.

So this week help your child practice courage through every moment:

Tell the truth.
Try again.
Say sorry.
Speak kindly.
Help someone.
Do the right thing.

Because courage grows in small choices.

And with Jesus’ help, those small choices will shape kids who are bold because they know that God is with them wherever they go.

Watch the episode below together as a family, and find the courage to be bold enough to do what’s right!