Suffer the little children

I just watched the Ron Clark story on TV. It’s a movie based on the life of an elementary school teacher from North Carolina who moved to Harlem, New York to teach sixth grade students. He chose the remedial class because everyone else had given up on them. The students tried everything they could to get him to quit and give up on them…but that would only have reinforced their view of themselves. Mr. Clark stayed. He showed them that he believed in them and that helped them begin to believe in themselves. They went from being the lowest testing class in the school to the highest in the district. Mr. Clark’s students caught his love of learning and it began to burn in them. He uplifted them by setting them an example of someone who not only loved learning but who was able to show them something of value in themselves.

To let a child see something of value in themselves through the eyes of an adult…I think that is the greatest thing an adult can give a child. Kids need more than just three squares a day and a roof over their head, they need to know someone believes in them. When a child learns to value him or herself they can easily learn the value of others…when they don’t value themselves they won’t value anything or anyone else.

I’m reminded of the story of a king in a small country who wanted to adopt a child raised by a village. He told the village about his plan but he wouldn’t tell them whom the child was. So the village raised every child there with love and affection. They were all praised and encouraged. They were instructed with patience and nurtured because of who they might become. As a result the whole generation was uplifted. They prospered as a peaceful people and raised a wise leader for the next generation.

Children need food, clothing, a safe and peaceful home, an education and the example of honest, upright adults, especially their parents. Every child needs a mother and a father who love each other living in their home. Little boys need the example of a man to learn to become a man. Little girls need a father to teach them how a man should treat a woman. Every child needs a mother to learn how to love.

Children don’t belong to their parents. They only come through them. They belong to God. Children are only entrusted to their parents for their parents to teach them to become decent human beings. That’s more important than being rich or famous. Our character is what we take with us after we draw our last breath. Everything else is just for training purposes…

People often wonder what's going on here on earth. Why are we here? The answer is that God is creating His family here. We are raising the Children of God in every generation. We should take that to heart because it’s THE most important thing happening in the universe! What we do in our homes will echo for an eternity…

Love your children.