I decided to re-name my blog “shrewdly innocent” after
Matthew 10:16, in which Jesus says, “I
am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes
and as innocent as doves.” I love this verse
from the parenting perspective. Too often Christian parents shelter their
children from perceived dangers and our children enter the real world not
shrewdly, but naively. Do not get me wrong, I want to protect my children from
spiritual and moral harm, but I do not want to shelter them from what the
non-believing world is like. My children need to know there is a theory of
evolution and what it means, they need to know there are other belief systems
that disagree with ours, they should be able to recognize a video game or movie
that might have objectionable content and be able to decide for themselves that
they should not play/view it, they need to recognize the origins of temptations
and pitfalls. In short, our children need to learn to be discerning and develop
Biblical wisdom so they can live confidently in a non-believing world, instead
of being bowled over by it. They need to learn how to interact with those not
like themselves so they don’t come across as a Pharisee or “holier than thou,”
but instead have genuine relationships with non-believers with the hope of
drawing them to Christ.
The
handy dictionary feature on my MacBook defines “shrewd” as “having or knowing
sharp powers of judgment.” I need to raise my children with the ability to
decide for themselves what is right and wrong, based on what the Bible
instructs. They need to be familiar with the non-believing world to know how to
interact with it and be effective in it for Christ. Obviously I do not intentionally expose my
children to sin, but they live in the “real world” every day and we talk often
about viewing their experiences through a Biblical lens.
The
second half of this verse is as important as the first. Not only do we need to
train our children to be “shrewd” in recognizing sin and immorality, they need
to remain innocent from sharing in sin.
Our children, by the time they reach their teens, need to be able to
disseminate morality and immorality, how to avoid tempting situations, and be
able to think and decide for themselves between right and wrong. “Because mom
and dad told me not to” often does not work for teens when faced with making a
tough decision. They need to own their decisions just as they need to own their
faith.
How do
we, as spouses, parents, grandparents, and mentors train our children to be
both shrewd and innocent at the same time? This blog will attempt to answer
that question. The entries will vary in topic anywhere from marital and
parenting to theology. My goal, though, is to share my thoughts on what
families need to do to be genuinely living out our faith in a non-believing
world. My thoughts will be Biblically based and come from my experiences as a
classroom teacher, coach, and pastor who works with children, youth, and
families as a whole on a daily basis.
- Adam
