Teach Children in the Way

"If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks! Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to the one by whom the stumbling block comes!" Matt 18:6-7 NRSV

Children have begun to return to school for another year of education. The reality is that schools are not the only places our children learn. They learn much in the home and much as they observe and interact with society around them.

What are we teaching them? I don't just mean the public school system. I mean each and every one of us. What are we teaching them in the community? Are we teaching them to follow in the footsteps of Jesus as loving neighbors and servants or are we teaching them that anything goes as long as it makes one happy?

When we teach that what is evil is good we are putting stumbling blocks between children and the promises of God. We lead them astray when we tell them that it doesn't matter if they obey the laws of God or the laws of the land, we send them all on a path of destruction and we become the stumbling block that will prevent them from seeking the Kingdom of God. They will be so busy trying to figure out how to get out of the mess that they created for themselves by following liars that they won't have time for peace; they won't have time to just sit and be still with God.

Could we at least agree to not teach the children (particularly other people's children) that it is not all right to disrespect those who have authority over them; that is the people who are raising and supporting them, their teachers, and, yes, law enforcement? It would really make life a whole lot easier for the children and for us.

God's Peace - Pr. J

P.S. Just because it feels good, doesn't mean it's good for you.

Mark 14:1-11 - Get Rid of Him; Betray Him

Mark 14:1-11 NIV
Get rid of them! Yep! That's what you do if you don't like the way someone is or does something. Get rid of them!

Not every who was present when the woman anointed Jesus' head with expensive perfume appreciated Jesus' allowing her to do that. What a waste of money! Judas, as the treasurer, was especially not happy about it. So what did Judas do? He plotted to get rid of him. Jesus did not act or do exactly like Judas thought he ought to be behaving so he went behind Jesus' back and betrayed him.

How often we see this happen! When those whom we have entrusted with leadership positions in the church or community make choices that we would not make, how often are their plots to be rid of them? From what I hear and see, it happens more often than we'd like to think. Don't like what the Pastor or Council or other leaders in the church do because it's not exactly like we want it and we plot to be rid of them.

Jesus did not usually act like society would expect him to. What makes people think that his followers; his servants would act like society expects them to?

Jesus was pretty generous in accepting people as they were and are. I often hear that he was not judgmental. But, how judgmental are we when we refuse to accept Jesus and his followers as they are?

God's Peace - Pr. J