The Thursday Update

APRIL 11, 2024

Lakeshore Friends—

I’m really concerned about what’s happening to children today.  One of the most incredibly tragic (and evil) trends I see happening all around is how our children are being systematically torn down at almost every turn.

It starts with an alarming number of parents who allow their kids to be fed a lot of negative things with little to no concern of how damaging it will be to them.  Not long ago, for example, I was observing some kids playing in the yard with some music playing pretty loud.  One of the songs that played just repeated the refrain, “F--- that!” every few lines… again and again and again.  I wondered why their parents (who were home) would let kids so young listen to such coarse music? 

It’s also in our culture where so many voices that have the attention of our children throughout the day are feeding them a steady stream of lies.  Like the radical ideology that tells them they are whatever they feel like they are.  Frequently this is done in full denial of objective reality, like when a child thinks they were born the wrong gender.  They live with little to no certainty of who God made them to be and why they are fearfully and wonderfully made by Him!  Yet, a lot of parents aren’t aware of this intentional indoctrination.  Some just pretend it isn’t harming their children and just want to “go along to get along”.  Worse yet, some even support it.

As these children grow up, what will they become?  In the most optimistic terms, they will become less than they could be in character, in charity toward others, and as contributing members of society.  Only time will tell what the actual answer will be.  This concerns me deeply.

This is why we began a new series on parenting last Sunday, Parenting Isn’t For Cowards.  I want anyone who will listen to be the best parents they possibly can be by applying the truth of God’s Word to their parenting practices.  The more parents do this, the more likely they are to raise godly kids who are confident, make positive contributions to society, have less heartache as they grow up, and most importantly add to the list of people who live to honor and glorify the God who made them with their one and only life.  Just like the kids who gave of their time last week to serve others at Flower City Work Camp.  There are so many great kids all around, but we want that number to grow.

If we don’t turn it around really soon, our nation won’t be strong and free for much longer (see Proverbs 14:34, 2 Chronicles 7:14).

So let’s do what we can to learn how to be the best parents and best adult models for every child that we can as we learn about parenting over the next few weeks. Our children are counting on us to show them the way.

Warmly,
Vince