by Kelly Knowlden
Here are twelve ways to teach your kids the opposite of what you want from them, i.e., respect for you and obedience to your words.
Yell at the coach, belittle the president, badmouth the teacher, mock the police officer, second guess the boss, use derogatory words to describe people in authority: “bimbo, idiot”, make cynical remarks about neighbors, complain about your wages, have conversations about your disagreements with your pastor in front of your children, make comments about the stupidity of public policy by the local government, roll your eyes whenever an authority speaks the opposite of what you think, and argue with your spouse in your child’s hearing.
Interchange the words and phrases above to give different nuances to your attitudes toward authority (“belittle the coach, yell at the president”) and you will have completely annihilated any semblance of Christian worldview in your children. You will have been very effective in undermining all your words and influence as well. Here is what I mean.
Interpose these words wherever there is a comma in the second paragraph above: “let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouth.” (Eph. 4:29) or perhaps: “the authorities that exist have been established by God” (Rom. 13:1b).
We betray our own hearts by what comes out of our mouth. (see James 3:5,6) We betray the next generation by demeaning the authorities that God has established and we reduce the world to horizontal. This is one of the key issues facing us today.
How many times do we do this throughout our day? Sometimes we "belittle, mock and complain" verbally, mentally or physically. Now a new form of undermining authority has emerged which makes teaching children how not to undermine or slander even harder. Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, YouTube and other social media websites offer users the chance speak their mind whenever, however and to whoever they want. I'm alarmed at how many young students are on facebook and myspace now. They have access to view speech that is hateful, godless and completely void of thought. And what is more startling is that their parents are allowing them, even encouraging them to have these online accounts. As educators and "concerned parties" we must uphold the truths of God's word by teaching and shepherding young people. Facebook, like television, is ok if the viewer/user is not prepared to take temptations to the cross. It's ok to use social media for "whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praise worthy. It's ok to tweet or post if it falls under the "do everything for the glory of God" category.
ReplyDeleteI meant to not say "not." in the 5th line from the bottom... : )
ReplyDelete