Tea Parties
I know of a little child who wanted to always have tea parties. The mom and dad loved to let the child have tea parties and they would put out the beautiful table cloth, get out the pretty china dishes and set the kettle on to boil.
The child loved the gold foil tea bag boxes, and the dainty sugar and creamer bowls that sat on the counter like squatty soldiers, guarding the kitchen.
The child really wanted to “pour the water” from the teakettle to the teapot, but it was scalding hot. The child knew when the water was ready because the kettle would whistle and the child would come running knowing the water was really hot. Then the parents would carefully pour the hot water into the tea pot with the tea bags inside, and wait for the tea to “steep”.
Though there were many participating in the tea party, only one person poured the hot water because pouring is something that can burn and cause severe damage. The adults knew not to touch the teakettle without a pot holder and knew to pour carefully so the water would not splash.
Though the child might throw a tantrum and want to pour the water, and might even get hurt in the midst of a big tantrum, the parents would not cave in and give the child the tea kettle to pour because they knew that it was something NO ONE should touch… and even parents who are not careful handling the teapot can be burned.
The parents knew that giving the child what was wanted, could be the very thing that could hurt or damage the child much more permanently, than any tantrum could hurt. The parents were able to see this, and because they had the wonderful role of parents, they used common sense and did not let the will of a “child” who does not really know “self”, be a bully to them.
The parents gently and lovingly explained to the child that children are submissive to parents, and parents are NOT submissive to children because that is what the bible teaches …honor your father and mother.
Most parents know how to prevent children from doing things that are damaging, and stop them running in the street, playing with matches, or having unlimited screen time. But for those parents who do not seem to have that common sense, there is the rest of the village to try to help them out.
Today in society, some children have been allowed to make parents “submissive” in the arena of gender. This is no different that a child wanting to touch scalding water. The damage can be irreversible and parents are RESPONSIBLE for protecting their children, including the unborn, and the VILLAGE is responsible for protecting the children that parents allow to hurt themselves. That is what laws are for. And in Mark 8 :36 we see Jesus telling us “what does it profit a man to gain the whole world yet forfeit his soul. Apparently putting an emphasis on caring for the body, at the expense of the soul, is a mistake.
It is a mistake to be afraid of the ways children “bully” parents who, anticipating a “tantrum” in the form of threatening suicide, self injury or more, might cave in to their children’s mistaken demands. Children are SUPPOSED to test boundaries and they feel SECURE when the parents reinforce set boundaries instead of submitting to children’ s wishes.
We love our children but we cannot set effective boundaries that allow them to develop normally when we are coming from a standpoint of fear of what children “might do” in “retaliation”. Children who know that they are loved, are willing to hear our adult reasoning for enforcing rules of society, and confident parents are fearless rulers.
My randomly chosen bible verse for today is… in James chapter five and it is verse seven…about having patience..
Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. 2 Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. 3 Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. 4 Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. 5 You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter.[a] 6 You have condemned and murdered the innocent one, who was not opposing you.
Patience in Suffering
7 Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. 8 You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.
For those of us who weep for the children who have been lost, we are being told to be patient because God sees all. We are also being told to stand firm, which means we do not compromise with little children who do not know how to self govern, because they are little children.
I love this bible verse because we as Christians must not stand mute in the face of the confusion of our fellow man…when we see something that is not part of God’s plan, we must in fact speak up lovingly and help be a light in the darkness.