A Big Commitment
This morning I read “The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies,” to my 6 and (almost) 4 year old grandchildren. I was pleasantly surprised by the vocabulary. Beatrix Potter uses words like “soporific” and “improvident.” These words were easily defined by their use in the context of the story. (soporific – tending to induce drowsiness or sleep and improvident – not having or showing foresight).
As this reading was part of their reading education I stopped periodically to ask them comprehension questions. The vocabulary was not an impediment for them. They got it.
With this little reading lesson for my grands came life lessons for me. 1. We have truly dumbed down what we expect of young children. 2. They are capable of understanding so much more than we expect. 3. There is value in teaching (at a young age) that there are consequences when we live “improvidently.”
Potter’s books were first published in 1909. There are probably people who would argue that this was time in America when children grew up fast with expectations that have been proven to be hard on them. I admit that I have not studied that out but I can see that the children were taught valuable lessons for daily life. The improvident thinking of these bunnies just about cost them their lives as they slept through being gathered up for stew.
In our own day, this last lesson on living without forethought or anticipating the consequences seems to be a nationwide need, from the politicians to school boards and elder boards, and teachers unions. As we go through the Covid “pandemic,” is anyone considering the effect this will have on the minds of the children who are being told it is too dangerous to be with your friends, that wearing a mask will protect them and others(!), and that they will only be safe by vaccinating?
As Christians we are called to consider future generations. It seems that biblically we should consider any advantage to future generations to be a blessing for today. Consider that the Israelites went into exile in Babylonia for 70 years (God had told them how long it would be through the prophet Jeremiah. Jeremiah 25:11). The people lived in hope because, though they would not see it, their children would be rescued from that state of exile. Something tells me that Christians today would see no hope or blessing in knowing that the future generations would receive the release from exile.
We tend to be more like Hezekiah who, having been warned by Isaiah of judgment to come after his death said, “The word of the LORD which you have spoken is good!” For he said, “Will there not be peace and truth at least in my days” (2 Kings:20:19)?
He voiced no concern for others as long as there would be peace in his days!
The direction of our nation is changing. There is not just no God in the schools, His Word is being removed from the thinking of most young Americans. This generation is fulfilling the warnings of Romans: “Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. …who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. (Romans 1:22, 23,25).
We need to reclaim future generations for Christ by teaching the young ones in our midst. They need to know the words of scripture more than even well-written fiction. They are capable of more than we expect. Let’s raise the bar and begin to teach with the idea that the one in front of us is not the only one benefitting from our time and effort (and it is a big commitment) because the one we teach will teach the next generation who will teach the next and so on until Christ returns.
It’s good work that needs to be done regardless of what illnesses are going around or who is in the White House. Let’s get to it.
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