Children do not understand much about stories. Most people realize this fact, so they simplify stories -- especially Bible stories -- when they tell them to children. Simplifying stories can be good so that children stay entertained, but we must be careful not to simplify the truth out of a story.
There are some Bible stories which we are very used to dumbing down and dumbing out the truth of the story just because we do not accept the Bible's interpretation for things.
For example, the story of Abraham is a story that we like to dumb out the truth. When he lies about his wife and says she is his sister, we inevitably assume that this comes from his lack of faith. We would never guess that it comes from his wisdom. But, what does the Bible say that he feared? He feared the lust of the kings of the lands he was visiting. And, in both cases, Sara was taken from him because of the lust of those kings. Perhaps Abraham was not such a fool as we think he was. Just in case you think that most of us are getting the story right according to the Scriptures when we say that Abraham lacked faith, think about this: when was the last time you heard a pastor preach this passage and mention that God punishes men who lust? Isn't that closer to the meaning of the passage? Doesn't the Bible show Abraham and Sara protected by God, and the wicked kings punished for their uncontrollable lust?
But, too often, we dumb down passages and lose the truth. That is one thing we must never do when teaching children the Bible.
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