I want them to know that good vibes or feelings won’t change anything. It’s the power of the Lord that sustains us. So while positive thinking is definitely a plus, they can’t rely on emotions to keep them afloat. Happiness will wax and wane, but the joy of the Lord is always. Their strength doesn’t lie within their own mind and willpower. It lies in God. Period. There, I said it.
Sadly we live in a society and world that tells us we rule and we hold the keys to the universe. So when we inevitably fall flat we can’t understand it. Suicide rates roar and school shootings are through the roof. Perhaps this is in part to the fact that we promote to our children that they deserve to be held on a pedestal. We make them believe they must strive for perfection. Every time we pose them a certain way and filter their image we’re setting that perception and deception in stone. Hey, I’m guilty too, gang. But maybe we need to watch what we’re teaching them, and stop accepting the world’s view by hearty spoonfuls. We need to gently and humbly, yet strongly and purposefully reveal to them a Biblical View.
Take a look at what they’re watching on television. Pause and listen to the music they’re absorbing. Peruse their social media accounts and take note. What is the world speaking to them about their character? What their shirt says may seem like a small thing, but that’s how the world’s view takes over; one small bite at a time. When our kids are told they matter more than anything they become selfish creatures. When they’re taught they must be flawless and strong, but finally discover their own faults and weaknesses, they can’t handle it. When they’re shown to seek what the world calls important or to seek what someone else has, they will never be happy with what they’re given.
So I guess it sounded like this post was all about The Children’s Place, but it’s about more than that. It’s about our children finding their place apart from the world, about them finding their identity in The Trinity, the only #squad that truly matters.
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This article originally appeared at BrieGowen.com.