There is a cycle that has been
going on in American history for the last many generations. The first generation in this consideration passes
through a very difficult period in which they suffer to a high degree on many
fronts: hunger, exposure, poverty, or enslavement. Moving past the kind of situation, they start
families of their own, wanting their own children to have a better life. These children grow up seeing their parents
work very hard and sacrifice greatly for them.
They in turn work hard, but not having the experience of personal
suffering themselves, don't pass on the same work ethic or sacrifice to their
children. And it is at this point that things go bad. These children tend to go in the direction of
ease. These are the children that have
their own bedrooms, computers, smart phones, cars, closets full of clothes, etc.,
etc. These children develop a sense of
entitlement and have no sense of personal discomfort. A life of comfort and ease does not fit with
the Christian life. To train up a child
with no sense of sacrifice and to focus solely on their own comfort, is to
raise a pagan, at least a pagan in thinking.
The Christian life is one of
denying oneself, taking up ones cross and following Christ. It's about focusing on and seeing things
eternal. It's about seeing things
temporal as insignificant, living in the world but not loving the things of the
world. Can we look at our kids and honestly say that we have trained them in
this manner? One major point of trouble
for us in this is the example we set by the things we love. Our example is a huge factor in this.
Unfortunately, too often these
things are unconsciously communicated.
Our first step is to examine ourselves and honestly assess what we love. Then we need to examine what we have
consciously communicated to our children.
Have we set them up to love and be distracted by the things of the world? I am not talking about things necessarily
sinful, but merely worldly and distracting.
Have we trained them to love the things of God and seek after them? Or have we merely directed them towards ease
and comfort, being distracted and titillated by entertainment?
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