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Prince
William and Kate with Responsiblity
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When
was the last time you felt like the three monkeys: “See-no evil”
(hands over eyes), “Hear-no-evil” (hands in ears) and
“Speak-no-evil” (hands on mouth)? Which monkey are you like?
(Serendipity Bible 10th Anniversary Edition, page 1295).
My
affliction and I think that of many others is not necessarily
obliviousness to evil, but obliviousness to simple fact and what is
appropriate – even necessary – within the human family. Parents
have the responsibility of direction, leadership, and control. For
our children we want the broadest possible opportunity and freedom of
choice. This can lead us into fundamental error. I picture the
parent as standing in play by a pool table. The pockets of the pool
table represent fundamental belief choices that confront human
beings. A scattering of balls represent the children in the family.
I hold that it is fundamental error when parents avoid putting their
children in a pocket—to allow them, as it were, to remain scattered
freely on the board—in this sense undirected and lost. The child
needs direction as to what will lead to a meaningful, purposeful, and
abundant life. The parent has a duty to seek the security for their
children that can only be found in a safe pocket. Not all pockets
are the same. In my view pockets of egocentrism or religious
materialism offer phony security which leads eventually to disquiet
and despair. Other pockets with diverse names share fundamental
values necessary for a sense of purpose larger than self and more
purposeful than toy acquisition. While giving the illusion of
unbounded freedom, to be out of pocket is in truth a pyrrhic form of
happiness. My prayer is that parents and all those who work with
children assume their God-given responsibility and earnestly seek to
direct children into safe pockets. Of course, not only children are
scattered and lost. Adults vis-à-vis adults require more leading
and less directing. When we find adults out of pocket, scattered and
lost, may we pray for guidance and assistance in providing leadership
to gracefully point the way to safe pockets. For those entrapped in
pyrrhic pockets, may our hearts lie bleeding and broken and not
harshly judgmental.
(My
thanks to Angelo Lundy for the pool table metaphor.)
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