By Dr. Rebekah McCloud
Back in September, we had a guy come to the house to give the furnace its fall checkup. You all knew Momma. So, when the young man came in, Momma gave him the up down and all-around and asked him a number of questions in rapid fire.
“Where’s the little old man they usually send? How old are you? You think you can work on my furnace; it’s probably twice your age? You know I’m 95 and I need to stay warm. If you don’t know what you are doing, don’t touch my heater.”
“Yes ma’am,” he said. “I understand and I know what I’m doing. The older gentleman retired. But he taught me everything he knew about working on your furnace. We don’t have many old ones like this anymore.”
“Okay then,” Momma said. “I’m going to keep my eye on you.”
“Yes ma’am, I know you will.”
When the man finished, Momma was pleased with his work and told him he could come back anytime. I asked Momma, why she wanted to know how old he was. “Becky, he looked like one of them “lennials”. You know, they don’t know much.” “Millennials, Momma. Some of them know a lot.”
“Yeah, I know. I ain’t worried about them; I’m worried about the rest of them. You know, it’s a shame, but some of these young people don’t even know God. They got their minds filled with those games, them telephones, and all that stuff on the computer. Your age group is going to have a hard time.”
I often think about this exchange. Millennials often get a bad rep, but I understood the point Momma was making. Are we in for a hard time? Do the younger generations know God? I remember when I was young, we attended BTU—Baptist Training Union meetings every Saturday with our youth pastor, Rev. Baker. Each week we recited Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” Rev. Baker took this job seriously. We learned about the Bible and memorized scriptures. We learned about being a Christian, how to pray, how to be a good steward, how to lead church service and how to speak at church.
Deuteronomy 6:7 reminds us that the word of God should be on our hearts and,” You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” Are we teaching our children?
Think with me for a minute. When did they stop being our children? There was a time when any adult could speak a word to any child. We poured into the lives of children. They were all, collectively, our children. Hmmm….
Question. If stewardship is about how we use God’s time, talent, money and resources, shouldn’t that include our children? Psalm 127:3 says, “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb, a reward.” So, I would say yes, children are a valuable resource. As such, it’s up to us to take charge, reclaim and teach our children.
It’s our job to teach our children to be good stewards. They learn how to use God’s time by watching how we use God’s time. Do we spend it wisely or are we a hostage to busyness and accomplish little to nothing for the kingdom? We teach them how to use God’s talent by what we do with the talent God has given us. Do we use it to the glory of God or do we squander it on the world? They learn how to use God’s money and resources by watching us. Are we generous and have open hands or are we stingy and rob God? What do our children see? Are we providing a good example?
The world is indeed a different place for children and parents now than it was when I was a child and when our kids were small. There are many more temptations, distractions, fascinations, appeals, desires and urges. There’s more attractions, enticements, seductions, draws, and pulls. Sometimes it hard for us to compete. What are we to do? Stand in the gap!
The Bible tells us in Mark 14:38 to, “watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Stand in the gap! Proverbs 3:5 tells us to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.” Stand in the gap! Are we trusting in the Lord and watching and praying for our children? nt:s
God is able to raise up a generation of strong children. There is a commercial on TV that gives me hope. There’s a baby who joins hands with two other people. As soon as the baby grabs the hands, he shuts his eyes, we assume to pray. Amen, that’s powerful!
I’m reminded of Proverbs 1: 8-9 that says, “Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and forsake not your mother’s teaching, for they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck.” Let’s stand in the gap and continue to raise up our children. They are the next generation of good and faithful stewards. Amen.