Lakeside Visitor September 2010

 

After three weeks of camp I'd say I was changed as much as, if not more so than, the students. There's something about being around the untainted genuineness of youth that shames our stodgy adulthood. A moment of watching youth shows me positives and negatives: 1) Their natural search for independence has them trying to get away by themselves to do what they know they shouldn't or being disobedient just because they can. 2) Their youth keeps their moldable young frames from the petrified and guarded behaviors of adulthood, where we trade youthful exuberance for calloused maturity.

We talked about being authentic with ourselves, our family and friends, and with God. Our speech is a great place to begin with such a topic and I was immediately reminded of the pitfalls we, who have gone before, have left for the youth. We adults expect our kids to be better than ourselves when we instruct them along the lines of Proverbs 15:1-4, but we slowly bury such teachings beneath our contrary actions. The youth pulled the word out easily: hypocrisy. Read this passage and pick a moment from your own life that convicts you. We all have at least one. Jesus says even if our actions are clean, our minds share the condition of our hearts and show us to be guilty. I know I am guilty of the "she started it," "but he..." mentality, but these kids helped me to see the healing available to the vulnerable.

Sometimes people deserve a harsh word, but where does it get us? Does the truth coming from my mouth act as a cleansing agent or as castor oil on the teeth? Do my words crush the spirit or give life and hope to those in need of both? After hearing some of the things these kids heard from the mouths of their parents I am positive that we are too lax with our tongues and the damages are sometimes irrevocable. Thank God children are more resilient than we are (but then again, I remember all the hurtful things said of me even when I was younger). We would do well to remember all our words will leave us answerable to God, who sees all, and speak with a view to the speech we leave behind/pass on in our children. I don't know about you, but that's a terrifying thought to me. But it’s also an incredibly encouraging thought, and challenge.