What I have noticed over the course of time is the decline of so much we used to take for granted-respect of self and others, kindness, and discipline to make the right choices and work within the rules.
When I was growing up, there used to be just a few “bad” kids who stirred up the pot of emotions at school, and we all knew who they were by name. Looking back as an educator, I can see how some of those kid may have had a learning disability they were trying to cover up or a home life that made them feel insecure or unloved. I can now understand why some of the “bad” kids were bad.
Today, the decline is not just for a few case scenarios, but actually it’s the good kids we are trying to search for in the crowd. There are more of these kids who want to learn and work within the rules, be respectful, and learn, but the ones that don’t care are now drowning out the rest. And there are a lot of them. More and more each year. Our quiet kids become quieter, and our loud kids become louder.
Swearing down the hallways is the second language of choice and teachers being looked at like a fly ready to be squished by a student who didn’t want to be bothered by a directive.
These are the children who are bolder, broader, and catapulted into the mainstream because they feel it is their right. I wonder where they got that from?
I don’t blame the kids. There is a much deeper issue, and I am tired of the deafening noise of the culture we have created allowing our schools to no longer be a place of peace and learning, but a battleground for unrest and worry. It’s hard to learn when you don’t feel safe.
What I have observed is a systematic erasing of the verses in our Bible – one by one:
“And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”(Mark 12:30-31)
Our culture serves a god that serves us, not the other way around. We are told to pursue whatever make us happy, whatever gives us fulfillment, and makes us feel good. The god we serve doesn’t ask us to love each other like ourselves. We are asked to love ourselves above all else.
Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it. (Proverbs 22:66)
Our culture has the tail wagging the dog. It asks of itself, “What would make the children happy?” “What would entertain them?” Cue in social media, advertising, parents giving-in, and kids feeling entitled. What way are we training our kids to go?
Thou shalt not kill.
Our culture doesn’t value life. It has created death as entertainment in the video games and movies even the youngest of our youngest are allowed to watch. An unwanted life is a hindersnce that needs to be destroyed before it is born. Why is the shooting up of a school become the battle cry choice of those who are hurting or in need of mental care? We have become our own gods choosing who will live and who will die.
From what I observe, what my children come home and tell me, and other friends in different districts have shared, we have a new normal coming our way, and it is anything but normal. With each verse of the Bible we red-line, our culture wins while everyone else loses.
The Bible can not be totally erased, no matter how much our culture tries. It and we will one day have to account for our actions. Many things need to change, and it needs to begin with the first verse our society decided to cross out:
“And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.”
My hope lies in this:
But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when you will be scattered, each one going his own way, leaving me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with me. I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have over come the world.