Usually I'm pretty good at trivia games. Maybe it's because I like to read. I'm naturally interested in learning about all kinds of stuff—particularly history and geography. I love magazines such as Time, Maclean's and National Geographic. I've learned that some facts are useful and others I'll never need to know again. With all this in mind, imagine my embarrassment when my school-age son beat me in a home version of the hit TV game show Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? I learned that, technically, I'm no smarter than a third-grader. How depressing.

What is important to know? Aside from the basics we learn in school and the value of a good education, I've learned that a good working knowledge of our political system can help inform our voting choices. And learning about economics and finance can help us invest our money wisely. We can also acquire some basic knowledge of how to take care of our health so that we can prevent illness and look after our families.

But there is one book that is full of essential information—a book that few really understand. You guessed it. It's the Bible. If, like me, you went to Sunday school as a child, you could probably win a Bible trivia game and quote many Scripture verses. Sadly, however, Sunday school has been in decline for many years, to the point where almost an entire generation hasn't had the benefit of good instruction in the Christian faith.

It's not because we don't own Bibles. In the United States, 92 percent of households own at least one copy of the Bible. Many have two or three. But only 59 percent read it even occasionally, let alone regularly. In Canada the number is significantly higher, although studies show the same trend is happening here.

Thank goodness for the Bible Society and other groups that promote Scripture and help spread the Word. But it is not just up to them. As Christians, we have a great responsibility to educate ourselves and our children about the Bible. Often we leave it to their Sunday school teacher—if our corps or church still has a Sunday school—but the Bible is clear about our own responsibility in this. In Deuteronomy 11:18-19, God says: “Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds.… Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”

The Bible is our guidebook, our source for understanding who God is and what our relationship with him should be. It's the one book that we can be sure holds key knowledge to abundant living and eternal life. We need to pass on the valuable lessons it teaches.

There are fun ways to teach your children about the Bible. We have more resources at our fingertips than ever before. When our children ask questions we can look up things immediately on the Internet—so much easier than the days when all we had was a small concordance in the back of our Bibles. These tools not only teach us more about God's Word, they also promote family time. What child, even as a teenager, doesn't want their parents to spend time with them?

As a parent, I know I need to do better. I want my children to understand why it's important to know the Bible and its words of life. I want them to know God and live for him. I only have them in my care for a short time. Surely I can put aside some of my own busyness for this. There's nothing trivial about it, and it's too important to neglect.

Major Kathie Chiu is the Corps Officer and Executive Director of The Caring Place Ministries, Mountain View Community Church, Maple Ridge, B.C.