Help On The Way

"Tell me the cost
I can pay
Let me go
Tell me love is not lost
Sell everything
Without love, day to day,
insanity is king"

from "help on the way"
by hunter/garcia

admittedly, the KUKUKACHU post was bleak. i didn't mean it to be, however. i had just heard the lemonhead's cover of mrs. robinson and was struck with the joltin' joe lyric...and how it was a cry for a simpler, saner time...a cry we can all relate to from time to time. maybe i didn't take the time to adequately express myself...sometimes that takes a lot of thought. or, maybe, the times are that bleak.

i do know this, however. "envy not the wicked", says the psalmist. they (those who cheat or hurt others in their pursuit) may have much--right now...but it won't always be that way. notthat we should be overly concerned about it, but they will "get theirs"...but, like i said, we shouldn't be too concerned about that, we should be too busy trying to get it right ourselves.

it's so easy to concentrate on the wicked in our world. whether we are indulging or lamenting, our eyes seem to be drawn to it...like the mole on the face of the principal in "uncle buck". it's not that we want to look, honest. but we can't help ourselves.

we christians do it alot.

we do it bc it concerns us.
we do it bc it offends us.
we do it bc it scares us.
we do it bc we want it to change.

and that is a good sentiment.

change.

we want the world to be a better place for our kids. i do.

but we have no guarantee that it will be. in fact, it might just be that the opposite is true. it might be worse.

so, what are we to do? hide ourselves? hide our kids? not have kids? build monasteries? stand around and remember joe d?

no. what we should do is teach our children. teach them...prepare them...catechize them...get them ready for what they will experience in our world.

in deuteronomy 6 we see a little outline about teaching our children. read the chapter some time...or at least the first 12 verses or so...

amongst other things the passage tells us that we should be:

instructional--we should actually teach our children about our faith and how our faith relates to life...and how to live this life in regard to our faith. teach them about Jesus and what He did while He was here on earth. teach them about what He's doing know...praying for us...and awaiting the time when He will return for us. teach them everything you know...you'll learn alot.

conversational--teach them life lessons...whether it's during a walk in the woods or in the mall or about an experience they had in school or you had in work...while you are driving in the car or cleaning the yard. talk to them about...stuff. take an interest in what they think and help guide them in thier thought process. remember, they are learning...they are in process. things that come "naturally" to you, wont to them (they didn't to you either, you just don't remember learning them). let your conversations naturally be full of Jesus.

intentional--regardless of what we verbally teach our children, the greatest teaching tool we have is how we live our lives. i was driving home last night and heard the old beastie boys song "fight for your right to party"...one line says:

"You pops caught you smoking and he said, "No way!"That hypocrite smokes two packs a day"

our children will repeat our behaviors, both good and bad. and it is silly for us to say "you can't do __________" ...when we are doing it ourselves. you must...must...live your life like you mean it. you must...must...put your faith into practice...

don't just think about it. do it. don't just plan on doing it. do it. don't wait until next thursday at 6pm (bc then you'll feel better prepared), do it now, even if you aren't as well prepared. bc chances are, you won't be prepared next thursday either.

what are the values you want your children to have?

honesty. fidelity. generousity. grace and mercy. perseverance. faithfulness. kindness. purpose.

then, put them into practice in your own life.

it's the best way to instill them in thier's.