Kid’s Capabilities

Treat people as if they were what they ought to be, and you help them become what they are capable of being. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Of the many things posted on Facebook and Twitter quotes are often the best.  The trouble with them for me is that I am not always sure who I am quoting. On Twitter I once retweeted a great quote from someone who the very next day had something so ungodly posted that I was embarrassed to have my name associated with his.

There was a post on Facebook where a friend had “liked” an article but said she was afraid people would question her salvation if she reposted it because of the choice of some of the language in it.  She apparently didn’t realize that Facebook would publicize her “like” and repost it for her friends to see. I read it because it made me very curious about what would make my friend laugh – but not publicly.

The article made some good points and was very witty, but the choice of language made it distasteful to share. Interestingly, I had the same response my Facebook friend did but I was even afraid to “like” the article for fear it would also come up on my wall!

The truth is that the article could have been just as funny with a choice of educated English rather than slang and four letter words that show a lack of taste or respect for others. We communicate respect and even confidence that another person understands what we’re saying when we use good English. When we “dumb it down” and talk to others as if they were too stupid to understand real language used well, we show no confidence in them.

I sometimes sit back and read what is written today and think we are doing this all the time to a whole generation (or more) of kids who have been spoken down to, run after, and had every move checked on and rechecked to make sure they did everything right. What we are seeing is that,  as adults, they don’t know how to write, talk, or be responsible. If, as Goethe suggests, we would treat them as if we expected them to be responsible, understand good English, and complete a task without constant supervision, they would be much more capable and we would be much more confident.

Even as small children I fear that parents are quick to mock and criticize behaviors that just need to be corrected (repeatedly), showing a child no respect. These parents then wonder why their children don’t want to tell them anything when they are in their teens. It is self-protection for the teen, they don’t want to be mocked.

If we want children and young adults who will discuss the issues of life with us before acting, we need to respect them, not to indulge or mock them in what seem like little miseries to any adult. Little miseries teach big truths.

As it is with you and me and our faith in God, every time we see His faithfulness to us, we learn to trust Him more for the next time we need Him. It is His consistency in being by our side and His faithfulness in giving us what we need that takes us back to Him over and over again to help us. He demonstrates His love and care for us by treating us as if we were what we ought to be and knowing what we are capable of being.

How could you and I treat the next generation as if they were what they ought to be so that they might become what they are capable of being?