Shaping a World-View

Earlier this week I had a conversation with my five-year-old son, Jamie, which reminded me that parents have the awesome privilege and responsibility of shaping their child's world-view. He asked me a very simple question while examining his previously skinned - now healed - knee, "Mama, why do we have scabs?" Of course, I told him it's like our body's own special band-aid. Then he said (and this is where you can detect his world-view), "I'm so glad God gave us scabs! He thought of everything!" This innocent, childlike remark gave me such satisfaction as parent. It's clear from his comments that he views the world and all within it as created and cared for by God.

Opportunities to shape his view of the world and his place in it come up at random times. I never know when I'll get a question or witness an incident that offers me the opportunity to show him the truth of God's love and his laws. For instance, Jamie has become fascinated with the Star Wars characters, even though he has never seen any of the movies. (He was first awestruck when he saw Darth Vader and some Storm Troopers make an appearance on a special episode of the game show Deal or No Deal!) He knows that Darth Vader wasn't always a bad guy, and he has often asked the question, "How did Darth Vader get bad?" I answered with, "He became selfish and stopped caring about other people. He only cared about what he wanted." Then he asked a much more searching question, "How do people get selfish?" This is where I had an open door to teach him the truth about God and our relationship to Him. I told him, "People become selfish when they stop listening to God."

It's amazing how scabs and Star Wars (and anything else, for that matter) can become springboards for teaching Truth to a child. It makes me want all the more to make sure that I am physically and emotionally present with my children as much as possible, so that I can be the person they turn to when these thoughts and questions run through their heads. I believe as a parent, I have a solemn duty to impart Truth to my children, so that they can stand up against the inevitable storms of life, much like the wise man Jesus described, who built his house - not on the sand - but upon the Rock.