The Greatest Danger to Children Is…

I watched an interview with a young couple who is suing their school district so that they will teach a specific curriculum that normalizes “trans questioning” for kindergarteners. All done so that their 5-year-old, who is transgendered or trans-curious, will feel he belongs. Tremendous.

 

This would normally be the most disturbing thing, but it wasn’t. What took the cake was hearing the dad talk about his own child. “I don’t honestly know what he is or who he is, we are just waiting on him to figure it out and tell us what he thinks he is.” That’s not confusing or contradictory at all.

 

That poor kid—that poor kid who just heard his dad keep referring to him as a “what” in front of the whole world.

 

That poor kid whose parents have so grossly vacated their responsibility to guide, lead, encourage, protect, and parent, that at 5 he is not only governing himself but is now steering the ship for the 30-somethings with a Prius in the garage.

 

And here is the sad reality–one of the most dangerous things to the kids being raised right now is the parents. 

We are bearing the fruit of abdicated responsibility and traded-in authority that took root decades ago. And worse than any one incident or accident, permissive parenting robs for generations.

 

We stopped fighting years ago and started caving. Maybe not individually, but corporately. Like go all the way back to the Garden.

 

We probably called it something different like “accommodating,” “being flexible, “being more understanding, “being more realistic,” “tolerating…compromising.” GRACE.

Y’all, if no one has told you yet, let me–“We have opened the floodgates to a sea of dangerous things that can sink and submerge our familial ships under the guise of GRACE. The serpent is still crafty, using God’s Words to do his work.

 

We cave over guilt about divided attention and hearts.

We cave in hopes we could make up in stuff what could not be provided in security.

We cave out of confusion, frustration, fear, and intimidation.

We cave over God, over prayer, abortion, then marriage.

We cave because we just don’t care or want to be bothered, or because we over too overwhelmed to see any other way.

We cave because the effort it would require to be educated or informed, then formulate an opinion, or heaven forbid act on that opinion…is more than we want to be troubled with.

We cave to avoid conflict at home.

We cave to avoid being disliked at work.

We cave to our children–for fear our children will reject us.

We cave for fear our children will be unhappy and we have made the mistake of thinking that happy children are healthy, holy, or whole children.

 

 

The “Me Generation” birthed and raised the “Selfie Generation.” And us “Selfies” might provide room and board for the next generation. But, raising we are not. And caving we often are.

 

Whatever we have to do to end it, let’s do it. Now.

 

Quit managing your household and start ministering to it. Your high and holy calling to your family exceeds transportation and funding. 

Get rid of stuff, get rid of habits, people or places that keep you so preoccupied. Be fully there and fully aware. STOP CAVING.

 

Have boundaries and enforce them. Yay boundaries! Get ya some! For friends, fun, the table, time, attitude, gratitude… Precious things are guarded.

Make traditions and keep them. Create norms that reflect your values. You don’t have to do everything. Do a few things well.

Have principles and be guided by them. They sure make hard decisions easy.

If I say I water is important but never drink it, do I value water? Nah. Not really. If I do, though? I carry a cup everywhere. I fill up before I leave the house. I keep a case in the car. I count my ounces. I order it at restaurants. I am concerned for others hydration as well.

 

Parents, if you told your kids that discipling them to know the Lord was the most important thing to you–would they believe you? Could you provide the receipts on that?

 

 

The louder the world is about wanting you silent, tolerant and distracted, the more determined you need to be, to be vocal, visible and faithful. God’s Word is the standard for good, not experience, feelings, culture, want or even need.

 

It won’t be cool; it won’t be comfortable. It for sure won’t be convenient.

 

Get used to being called “prejudiced, judgmental, phobic, prudish, bigoted, narrow…” And every other word used for someone who simply disagrees with our Godless trajectory.

 

We left Mayberry years ago. There is no network of kindly neighbors who share your values in today’s culture.

UNLESS YOU KNIT ONE TOGETHER.

 

This is Babylon, Baby.

 

And it didn’t go up overnight. It was built all around us, brick by brick, day after day, while we apathetically held buckets of mortar for shady builders and gushed, “I HOPE IT’S GONNA BE SOMETHING GOOD!!”

 

You see that, right? In the absence of intentional adulting and parenting, we helped build the ruins our children are lost in. Brick by silent brick.

Godlessness. Church. Entitlement. Sex. Dating. Gender identity…Conversations we were too busy to have.

 

But now we know it. We see it. Let’s do something about it.

 

Be the wrecking ball.

Dy-NO-mite.

Speak the truth. Lead well. Love bravely.

 

Daniel was in Babylon, too.

It did not change him. He changed it.

 

And the world through it. We are still talking about the difference an equipped, prepared, and wise young man made in a corrupt kingdom.

You see, Daniel wasn’t made IN Babylon. He was made FOR Babylon. BEFORE BABYLON. And I bet it wasn’t by absent, aloof, or cavey parents.