A High Calling

In this most childish of seasons, I have been pondering the role of children in our society lately. Every generation tends to bemoan how the next batch is doing...or not doing. As a youngster, I recall the seasoned folks shaking their heads and wishing for the old days.  The truth is, societies do tend to rise and fall in cyclical fashion. We often point to the downturn of the Roman empire as it met its demise over decades of gradual moral slippage, slouching towards mediocrity and decadence until it imploded. 

We've raised four children to adulthood, so now I'm the one clucking and shaking my head. It's easy to raise commentary when you are no longer responsible for little humans. It's easy to forget how difficult it is and also how profoundly tired you were. But meanwhile, I still have my checklist. We used to breed and raise (responsibly, of course) lovely Golden Retrievers. Over twenty years, I saw dogs go from being treated as pets to being adopted out like children. In the same period, I've seen children go from being potential adults to being pets. Children as pets. I think there might be a book with that title. They're cute, with these big, dewy eyes. They're standard issue, for most families. Sure, they come with their package of problems, but if you can find a way to outsource a lot of stuff, maybe you can keep your hands clean. Good luck with that.

I'm just hoping that we will have enough parents in these next few generations that have the gumption to see past the immediate. Because the immediate is what is generally getting answered. Instant gratification, devices on auto-pilot, entertainment at every juncture. They say that the attention span of today's typical elementary child has shortened to a ridiculously few seconds, because of the amount of artificial stimulation that children are receiving these days. Gone are simple pleasures that drag out the minutes and hours and teach us to focus. There are some families that are defying this trend, but they have to be intentional and vigilant to make it stick. 

I made plenty of mistakes in raising our children -- neglect, germs, yelling, not noticing dirty sheets, spending too much time on the phone, being generally selfish and sometimes stupid. At the end of the day, it's only the grace of God that gave us these awesome children who are hard-working, thinking, God-fearing adults. I pray that there will be those in this generation who will look beyond surviving today's crazy bustle to the deeper, nobler, higher things that they have been entrusted with. That they'll see children as a blessing, not a curse. Not as pets, but as the framework of the future. God help us.