Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Products of their environment...

While several people in the article we are about to discuss would wholly disagree with the title of my piece here it is my belief that children are very often products of their environments. There are certainly instances in which children have faced great adversity and yet accomplished tremendous feats of heroism and moral fortitude. However, the vast majority of those raised in troubling circumstances are indeed troubled. When I was in college there was a statistic that blew me away (and frequently comes to mind) and that was: 80% of abuse victims become abusive themselves. I suspect you've seen the truth in this. Walking away from the negativity one has experienced, or been taught, is an intentional act; it is a conscious decision and when a two year old is bombarded with extreme obscenities and thereby repeats them upon the encouragement of adults, there is certainly a higher likelihood that such language will become part of his everyday discourse.


I suspect some of you are wide-eyed at the imagery therein and while CNN also posted the video-proof to support their article, I will refrain. I can tell you that as a mother of a two-year old I did not even feel ok watching such heinous behavior. Thusly, I did not play the video which apparently shows the two year old cursing and shooting birds at the adults in the room who are egging him on and cursing at him as well. He's two! Yet, there are people that not only don't have a problem with this behavior but are instead boasting about it by putting it on their Facebook pages. Thusly, when the Omaha Police Officer's Association posted it on their site as a warning that toddlers raised in such a manner might very well become the thugs their parents are laughing about now, it has received a lot of flack. I'm not going to pretend to know all the issues the Omaha Police Department has had with racial relations and I am certainly not insinuating that I am an advocate of government intrusions into our lives. What I am saying is that if you are going to publically post something that shows a young child acting in an offensive manner and enduring equal verbal offense, then don't get all riled up when someone implies you're raising your kid incorrectly.

That said, this particular article brought to mind the verses that imply what the world will look like as we close in on the end times. Here's the one that specifically screamed in my mind as I read about this poor kid's upbringing:

"But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people."

(2 Timothy 3:1-5 - ESV) 

 
Scripture tells us to avoid such people...hmm...something to think about at the very least. I just want to conclude by imploring you to cautiously consider, carefully contemplate, every word and deed you say and do before your children; they are little imitators and they will (more than likely) become a lot like you. I mean, seriously, think about how many times you've said or done something and thought, "Ah, man, that was so my mom (or dad)!" I know I do it a lot; we have a great duty and responsibility to the children entrusted to our care. We do not own them, they are on loan from God and I believe we will be held responsible for any idle word spoken, particularly those that cause them harm.

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