Troubled cosmos taken from my bedroom window…
Which is it, moms? If your child came and asked you, “What is the difference between good and evil?” How would you answer? I am the mother of two grown married daughters and the grandmother of seven; six of them, college age young people. As parents, getting our children ready for “life” means teaching our children to distinguish between right and wrong. In this turned upside down culture, it is imperative as they stand on the threshold of life, that they are prepared and able to discern “good and evil” to find God’s will in their life-changing decisions.
Where is that “plumb-line”?
The explosion of youth crime, drugs, alcoholism, domestic violence, unwed mothers, abortion, sexually transmitted diseases, etc.…can be traced back to the removal of an absolute standard of right and wrong. Who dropped the ball? Is it not us, moms, that will stand and be blamed for not taking God’s Law (the Ten Commandments and the understanding of the consequence of disobedience) and searing them on the hearts and minds of our children? (It’s always mom’s fault, isn’t it?)
“The instances are exceedingly rare of man immediately passing over a clear marked line from virtue into declared vice and corruption. There are middle tints and shades between two extremes; there is something uncertain on the confines of the two empires which they must pass through, and which renders the change easy and imperceptible.” Edmund Burke
We live in a world of “gray areas”. Compromise in our own lives validates the “acceptable sins” being introduced into the lives of our children. In today’s world, sin is not called sin, so we don’t have to deal with it, right? WRONG! Our children learn that our anger (or whatever it is, that you hold on to) ….is acceptable, without consequence. God says there is a consequence for all sin. You can be forgiven, but you still have the consequence of the sin to deal with. Hence, the importance of clarity to our little ones regarding “right and wrong”. There is to be no betrayal of truth within us.
“…Imagine Moses agreeing to take part in a panel discussion with Israel over the golden calf; or Elijah engaging in a gentlemanly dialogue with the prophets of Baal. Or try to picture our Lord Jesus Christ seeking a meeting of minds with the Pharisees to iron out differences.”! A.W. Tozer We are to teach an allegiance to biblical truth without compromise, regardless, if it is considered popular or not. Or if the masses have accepted it as normal, not sin.
Sin is cosmic treason. R.C. Sproul Billy Sunday used to say, “One reason sin flourishes is that it is treated like a cream puff instead of a rattlesnake!” James 4: 17 is the biblical definition of sin. “To Him who knows to do right and does not do it…to him it is sin.” Using God’s definition for sin brings truth into the light.
Let’s not forget, moms… our children are watching, imitating,
repeating and reproducing our “right and wrongs”!
Let’s not betray their trust…
~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America. Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California. My passion is mentoring and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights.
