1. Former football players and team stats that occurred before they were born
2. Wild animals
3. Deadly diseases
4. The automobile industry
5. Foods from other countries
6. President Trump's wall
They can't tell you how long they've been playing a video game, but they sure can weigh in on foreign affairs. Yes, at the ripe ages of 11, 10, 8 and 5 my kids are seemingly experts on most everything. Whether this comes from a place of great confidence, or simply the inability to say "I don't know" when asked a question, well...I don't know. But to be sure, in this day and age of information overload and a less than objective media, add to your list of parenting do's the skill of pause and discernment.
Because you can be sure for every ounce of truth out there you're gonna have to wade through a whole bunch of poo to get to it. And poo-wading is not easy. It takes time and prayer and thoughtfulness. And we do not live in a society that necessarily elevates those virtues. We like answers that are quick and make us feel good and think less. Who has time for more than that? Best just to write/print/post/spout off/vote for whatever sounds good and convenient in the moment. Right???
Christ spoke of false prophets. "They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them...every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit." Matthew 7:15, 16.
Fruit takes time. Apples don't grow overnight and neither does consequence. See, this is the trick of the devil. He knows our impatience, our willingness to fill in a gap, our uneasiness with time and effort and conviction. But we can't play the game on Satan's terms, only God's.
In the absence of immediacy we must rely of truth. God's truth. We have to teach our children, and ourselves, that God's truth is the lens through which we see the rest of the world. That what falls outside of that lens cannot and will not bear good fruit, despite what the short-term promise is. We have to teach them to say "I don't know why, but God does" and rest in that trust. That the right answer is not always easy, but that it is right. And that loving one another is always an option. And when we cling to His idea of truth, though we change, God does not.
What your false prophets don't see is the end of the story. What they haven't held in their hands is the world, and all of its creation. What they can not possibly know is everything that He does. What they can't give you.....salvation through Jesus Christ, His son.
Pause. Think. Pray. And when you speak, speak Truth.
XOXO....Kelly
