We live in
a culture that is ridiculously busy. We often talk about how much overtime we
have or how
hard we work with pride in our voice and smugness in our demeanor. With this,
we pass this “work ethic” onto our children and ultimately teach them to do as
much as possible. Some pass this off as teaching their children a good “work
ethic” when in truth, I fear that we are teaching our children that success is
characterized by how busy a person can become.
Education
is a priority and eating your vegetables is a priority. Providing for your
family is a priority. We teach our kids that team practices and games are a
priority so as to teach them dedication. Where does God fit in all of this? I
do not mention all of this in order to demonize sports or jobs, but to glorify
the use of moderation and priority.
In youth group, we have been talking about
Authentic Faith: If you believe that God really is the Son of God and really
died on the cross for your sins which separate you from Him, how could you NOT
have an evident change in your life and be telling everyone you know this news?
Many of our students had their eyes opened and began to question what their
life reflected. This also sparked questions of my own faith and the curiosity
of how adult congregants would react given this question.
The famed
magician and professed atheist Penn Jilette has questioned the authenticity of
the Christian faith by stating, “If
you believe there is a heaven and hell, and you think it’s not worth telling
someone about it, how much do you have to hate him to not proselytize (evangelize)? To believe
that everlasting life is possible and not
tell people? If you knew someone was going to get hit by a bus,
would you not do everything you could to push them out of the way?” Amen Penn.
In all of the busyness, are we fitting God into the core
values of our families or have we become so busy teaching our children to be
busy? If I saw a bus headed in Noah or Elliot’s direction I would not simply
yell out, “Hey, you might want to watch out for that bus.” I would lay my life
down for my sons. I would do everything possible to get them to safety.
For my boys, I want to teach them to take the time to rest;
that family devotional time is a priority. I want to instill that the time we
take together to unplug and thank God for the blessings He has given is the most
important part of our day. When Noah, my 12 year old, wakes in the morning for
school, he does not have an option to not go to school unless he is sick. When
he is sick, I take him to the doctor because I love him and want him healthy. When
it is Sunday morning and it is time for church and Sunday night and time for
youth group, Noah does not have the option to not go, nor will he or Elliot
ever have this option, because I love them and I want people to sow into their
life and teach them their wisdom when it comes to doing life with God as the
lead.
Though many may
struggle to hear this message, call me a “helicopter parent,” it is one that I
find so important to address for the sake of all parents. Are we truly
instilling in our children that we believe in God the way that we say we do?
That we believe God is the most important part of their life and for that, we
would lay our life down to show them this kind of faith?
Scripture: 1 Kings 19:11-13
