The old
codger removed the corncob pipe from his mouth and shook it in the air for
emphasis as he opined, “That’s the problem with young people today…”
We’ve
all heard him, or her, ranting about
the state of things, and frankly, I’ve always rolled my eyes when many in the
older generation categorize the youth of the day into one disrespectful pile of
dysfunction. Over the years, I have come
to the mindset that you are definitely going to get more flies with honey than
vinegar and it gets on my nerves to see people speaking about things they know
nothing about. My tail feathers ruffle
when someone passes judgement on another without even knowing them.
Maybe I
think I’m “hip” or something- like I can relate to the plight of young people
and their hang ups and issues. But the
problem is, I’m turning into one of
those old people- and in the wake of our world seemingly turning upside down lately- I feel like I have something to
say. So hold on while I take my corncob pipe
out of my big mouth and let the populous have it.
My
saintly mother (God rest her wonderful soul), would always point out to me that
parents are not instilling a proper sense of obedience in their children. Many a time I would roll my eyes over that-
but I knew my mother to be very wise when it came to childrearing, so I tucked
that bit of insight into the dank corners of my brain to pull out, dust off,
and think about when I got older and more experienced. And you know something, she was right.
She
would tell me how parents are too afraid to say “no” to their children. Even in the raising of my own kids my mother
would tell me how I was always giving them too many options. She would say, “Don’t give them so many
choices, just tell them what’s for dinner.
If they don’t want to eat it, then they go without.”
Entitlement.
You know
what happens when obedience goes out the window? We create a generation of people who don’t
understand the harsh reality that you are not going to get everything you demand
in life. God forbid we tell little Bobby he can’t jump
on the couch, or stay up as late as little Johnny down the street. Because we’re always trying to justify a way
we can give them what they want. It sure
seems to make things easier. And- in our
imperfect love- we want them to be happy.
Maybe we feel guilty about stuff, and we want to overcompensate so
little Bobby won’t “suffer”. Then you’ve
got the other parents buying their kindergartens I phones and bikinis and you
second guess your backwards parenting techniques.
The
reason I have been thinking about this so much is that this glaring failure in
loving and Godly childrearing has now become this Cerberus, this three-headed
hound from hell, and it seems to be strengthening out of control. When children are not taught loving
obedience, there will never be an end to what a human will demand.
Case in
point: Gender neutral bathrooms and
locker rooms.
Are you even kidding me? Seriously?
We are arguing in our society today to defend our daughter’s right to a
safe and modest place to change with the other girls in gym class or use the
facilities at the store. Reality has
gone away. Where is America? The world is twisted off-kilter in its delusion
that it must not say no to little
Bobby- and we are afraid to stand up and speak truth. Lack of obedience to even the most basic
truth has warped our world. This
behavior is not right, people. It’s not
right…
But
here’s the thing. I don’t want to rant
about the problem with people today…
Because, I’m not going to get any flies with vinegar. And the point here is not to stand on my
soapbox and rain down fire and brimstone.
Because, you see, we are all connected.
We are all in this together. And
the sad truth is- there are so many, many people in our world who are
desperately searching for happiness. But
they’re looking in all the wrong places.
We all
want and need love, and compassion, and acceptance.
If only
we could show them what is really important.
Who is really important. Jesus.
Jesus is the answer, but He isn’t free.
He’s going to ask something of you.
Sure, He loves you with an unbelievable love, and that will never
change- but He will also ask each one of us to follow. We must follow. We have to be obedient to His commandments, not ours.
In a
world that is upside down today, and more than ever those old codgers have a
legit bone to pick with the trouble with
our society… let’s not spend as much time wringing our hands in
condemnation, but instead, pray. Let’s
pray for each other that the world in darkness will come to the light- the Light of the World- the only answer to
our problems, Jesus.
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