Tag Archives: Children

Don’t Fall Into that Pit

Thoughts,

Recently, many of us watched the video of a four-year-old boy who had fallen into a gorilla pit. The scene immediately grabbed us. We watched as the gorilla dragged him through the water as we might drag a rag doll through a swimming pool.

After the event was over and the child was out of that pit, people had questions. “Why wasn’t there a better fence to keep that from happening?” “Where were the parents? How could they let that happen?”

Everyday children and adults fall victim to evils in the world. We all have an enemy who is roaming around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. Many people have fallen into a pit out of which they seem powerless to be delivered.

Children cannot defend themselves. They cannot protect themselves. It is up to us to protect them physically. It is also up to us to protect them spiritually. Today, do what you can to be a positive spiritual role model for your children and/or your grandchildren. Their eternal destiny and where they spend it depend, in a large part, depends on you. “Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6)

Your Personal Influence

Thoughts, , , ,

Several years ago several people traveled from Fort Worth, Texas to Denton, Texas to help a friend. Called to pastor the church, we went to help him get started. We worked on the physical structure but we also knocked on doors and invited people to attend.

Of all the doors we knocked on and all the people we invited, there are four people I will not soon forget. It was a dad and his three children. The wife/mother was no longer a part of their lives.

We invited the dad to church. His response was, “No, I am not interested.” He was not mean about it. He was just that blunt and that direct.

So, we said that we would like to invite the children to attend and began to explain what the church would have to offer the children. To which the dad replied, “No, they would not be interested. You see, I have decided to not teach them anything about God, Jesus, or the church. When they are old enough, they can decide for themselves what they would like to believe.”

This dad was convinced he had arrived at a wise position – to let the children decide for themselves. However, I am guessing he would not have left them to make other decisions for themselves. Decisions like what to eat. Would he let them have candy for breakfast, cotton candy for lunch, and ice cream for dinner? Probably not.

You might be thinking, but that’s different. Yes, it is radically different. Because when we are talking about God, Jesus, and the Church, we are talking about spiritual matters. We are talking about eternal destiny matters. We are talking about matters that matter. We are talking about whether they will spend an eternity in heaven or an eternity in hell.

Those children are adults now. I wonder how they turned out. I hope they are doing well.

Your influence with your children and grandchildren is powerful and can be life changing. What kind of influence would you like to be for them today?

Parents & Grandparents Must Be Vigilant at All Times: Part 2

Thoughts,

After the incident of the little boy grabbed at the Target store, we had a Savage Family meeting. We had several of these as Greg grew. I cannot remember how many and they were not held on a regular basis; just when necessity required.

As a preface to this, I need to share – we taught Greg two principles that require mentioning here. We taught him to use his inside voice inside and to respect other people’s property. This second lesson included – when you are in a store if you pick up something and then drop it and break it, we have to pay for it. So, just don’t touch it and there will not be a problem. Now, back to the meeting.

I told Greg something almost exactly to these words. “Greg, based on the situation that happened recently at the Target store, we have some new information to give you. If anyone ever tries to grab you or take you, you have our permission to yell, scream, or shout to the top of your lungs, regardless of where you are. You have our permission to kick, break anything around you, and do anything you can to bring as much attention to yourself as possible.” We discussed what we meant by all this and I made sure he understood the context of why we gave him these amended instructions.

The truth is, children need to be empowered. Pedophiles and wicked people will use fear, intimidation, and their size to overpower and take advantage of children. Unless we tell children, unless we empower them, children will not know what is appropriate. If someone grabs your child, grandchild, or a child you are caring for, those first few seconds are precious and cannot be reclaimed. The child must be empowered to act quickly and they will if you tell them what to do.

In the Target store situation, I shared earlier, the wisdom of the mother and the courage and quick thinking of the manager were huge in that little boy being found relatively unharmed. Adding to that, children need instructions as to what to do if some wicked person seeks to take them. We must not assume they will know what to do in that split second decision time.

I am glad to report Greg never had to use the plan. I hope your child is never in a situation of being a potential victim. Let’s empower our children to be wise to the culture in which we live so they can remain safe and be all they can be for the glory of God. Have a great summer.

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