I had a conversation with a young mother recently that gave me pause.
The young woman, a successful entrepreneur and mother, expressed her concern about her two young children, ages 3 and 10. They were bright, healthy, and seemed okay but had no interest in school, reading, or books. They played on their electronic devices for hours at a time and were doing "ok" in their classes at school. Her concern was that something was wrong with them and that they would not do well in school in the future if ...
I had a conversation with a young mother recently that gave me pause.
The young woman, a successful entrepreneur and mother, expressed her concern about her two young children, ages 3 and 10. They were bright, healthy, and seemed okay but had no interest in school, reading, or books. They played on their electronic devices for hours at a time and were doing "ok" in their classes at school. Her concern was that something was wrong with them and that they would not do well in school in the future if something did not change. I assured her that her children seemed bright and would do well if she nurtured and encouraged them in their development.
The mother's face brightened, and she asked me what I thought she could do to help her kids because, as she said, she "really wanted them to do well in school." I then asked her how often she reads to her children and if she has ever tried to create a 'learning environment' for her kids. When she asked what that meant, I explained that a learning environment included several things. Here are a few of the things I mentioned to her: A house with books the kids could read and look at in various places around the house; A structured time, several times a week, where they would all sit in the same room and look at books, and practice reading, and even making regular trips to the library, to check out age-appropriate books for the children to read. I said that one of the most important things she could do was to read to her kids regularly: children's books, Bible stories, and even stories from American history that would interest them and even lead them to ask questions. As I spoke, her forehead wrinkled up, and she made it clear she was not interested in these activities. She said she did not like to read herself and would instead just let the kids figure things out on their own as they watched learning games on their iPads or computers. I was flabbergasted!
The sad truth is, if kids are not encouraged to learn and read, they probably will not! Parents are to value their children's development and work to encourage, teach, and expose them to good influences. It takes years for a parent to nurture their children! It is just one part of a caring mother or father's role in preparing their kids for life after childhood!
Interestingly, as I heard myself explain this to my young friend, I thought of how any good church functions. More than just a place to worship God and pray, a healthy church is a place that nurtures its people, teaches them what the scriptures teach and how to apply those teachings to life, and encourages them to develop in the practice of their faith! Here is one passage that comes to mind:
Speaking of the people God has brought into the faith, Paul says this: "And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers. . . As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him, who is the head, even Christ." Ephesians 4:11-14
This is God's plan for the church; it is the way Father – God has determined to raise his people, who have pledged to live as followers of Jesus!
A healthy church will take this seriously and will produce 'children' who can read and understand scripture, think for themselves, and resist the cultural trends and temptations they might encounter in our sin-tainted world. It is not an easy task, but when taken seriously, it is a task that can produce young men and women who can live out their faith in a way that honors God, helps them in this life, and enables others to discover that life that is in Jesus.
A church that does not take this seriously but instead spends its energies on entertainment and making people feel good is a dangerous church. It leaves its people helpless in their battle against sin and unaware of the spiritual dangers of this world.
Let us all learn, develop our faith, and face this world with faith!
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