Cause And Effect
19The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Galatians 5:19-21
This morning, in school, we had to sit through a counselling course called Love Matters. Because I teach 17-18 year olds and they are at an age where relationships mean a big deal to them, we have to know what to say to them. Of course, ideally, we should be able to tell them abstinance is best. But are they really going to listen? Ideally, I should be able to quote this from the Bible and have them quake from fear. But I can't. Not only because I teach in a secular school, but because I cannot alienate all those who do not believe.
Mom always taught me that when I teach, I should teach from the known to the unknown. Start with something they are familiar with, to introduce them to a foreign concept. To many of my students, God is something they cannot grapple with. They don't know and they don't understand. So, to couch a message so important in terms that they do not yet understand would be an act in futility.
I am not saying that I don't believe in it. I just need to get the kids on the same page as I am on before I even start. They all know sex before marriage is wrong. But knowing is an intellectual ability at times and it is not enough. I knew it at 18 too, that sex before marriage wasn't right. But it didn't really hit me till much later- when I listened to the wedding vows for the very first time. I've heard the wedding vows before but one day, at a wedding rehearsal, I finally listened and it became crystal clear to me.
I need to help my kids get there and it isn't by scaring them (although that might delay that sexual experimentation somewhat). Nor is it by threatening them (inheriting the earth isn't something 17 year olds spend a lot of time pondering over). And on top of that, I don't think it's my place to issue the threat that God will punish them for their sins. I believe God does allow the consequences of our actions to affect us adversely if it is the natural progression from our actions, but I really do not see it as my place to decide when, who or where God meets it out on.
My job here is to make sure my kids are aware enough to make the right decisions. And if they don't, at least be ready to face the consequences- and to do that, they have to know full well what the consequences are. I believe that if you choose a path that God does not want you to choose, but do so nonetheless, you live by that decision and you shouldn't expect God to bail you out. Even though, I think some of the time, He does.
Galatians 5:19-21
This morning, in school, we had to sit through a counselling course called Love Matters. Because I teach 17-18 year olds and they are at an age where relationships mean a big deal to them, we have to know what to say to them. Of course, ideally, we should be able to tell them abstinance is best. But are they really going to listen? Ideally, I should be able to quote this from the Bible and have them quake from fear. But I can't. Not only because I teach in a secular school, but because I cannot alienate all those who do not believe.
Mom always taught me that when I teach, I should teach from the known to the unknown. Start with something they are familiar with, to introduce them to a foreign concept. To many of my students, God is something they cannot grapple with. They don't know and they don't understand. So, to couch a message so important in terms that they do not yet understand would be an act in futility.
I am not saying that I don't believe in it. I just need to get the kids on the same page as I am on before I even start. They all know sex before marriage is wrong. But knowing is an intellectual ability at times and it is not enough. I knew it at 18 too, that sex before marriage wasn't right. But it didn't really hit me till much later- when I listened to the wedding vows for the very first time. I've heard the wedding vows before but one day, at a wedding rehearsal, I finally listened and it became crystal clear to me.
I need to help my kids get there and it isn't by scaring them (although that might delay that sexual experimentation somewhat). Nor is it by threatening them (inheriting the earth isn't something 17 year olds spend a lot of time pondering over). And on top of that, I don't think it's my place to issue the threat that God will punish them for their sins. I believe God does allow the consequences of our actions to affect us adversely if it is the natural progression from our actions, but I really do not see it as my place to decide when, who or where God meets it out on.
My job here is to make sure my kids are aware enough to make the right decisions. And if they don't, at least be ready to face the consequences- and to do that, they have to know full well what the consequences are. I believe that if you choose a path that God does not want you to choose, but do so nonetheless, you live by that decision and you shouldn't expect God to bail you out. Even though, I think some of the time, He does.
1 Comments:
At 9:19 am,
Threez said…
Brilliantly written.
Don't give up. Some of these 17 and 18-year-olds are more sensitive then we give them credit for.
Then again there are those you want to beat over the head with a big stick, yes.
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