Dream Haters: Culpable Kids
He went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up the road, some youths came from the city and mocked him, and said to him, “Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!” So he turned around and looked at them, and pronounced a curse on them in the name of the Lord. And two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths.
2 Kings 2:23-24 (NKJV)
A sobering Bible story involves Elisha and a gang of scoffing kids.* Although they mocked and scorned the holy man, does their shocking punishment fit the crime? (NOTE: Our Father is always perfectly just!)
That being said, it raises two questions:
When should kids/teens be held responsible for their actions (most especially, those which harm others)?
What is the age of culpability?
In Jewish culture, for boys, it’s 13, and for girls, it’s 12. More commonly, it’s thought to be 18. But…
Aren’t most young people the sum of their years? Their upbringing and experiences?
In the U.S., many kids are pampered. WHY? Overworked, preoccupied parents can over-indulge and under-discipline. Then, in misplaced love, they shield their children from the consequences of their actions.
Why?
Culpable parents make culpable kids.
Child-serving parents make self-serving teens.
Raised in selfishness, kids fall in judgment.
It’s a massive wave of entitlement!
Actors, models, and talent for Christ:
What your own parents did or didn't do in raising you… is between them and God. What your childhood church did or didn't do in teaching you… is between it and God.
But today, it's YOUR responsibility to get it right. It's YOUR duty to set the record straight for your own misguided generation. How? Become public, positive examples.
Your gift to perform provides a platform. So stay in The Word, discipline YOURSELVES, and follow God's most fundamental Law:
' 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two Commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets' (Matthew 22:37-40).
Also,
Own your mistakes, and be accountable. Jesus wiped away culpability, but not a saint’s responsibility to confess, to repent and do better!
Dream Haters: Culpable Kids (Part 10)
* https://www.gotquestions.org/Elisha-baldhead.html
NOTE: God is my Ghostwriter. If what I write is good, it’s from God. You may see notes to 'Actors, Models & Talent for Christ.' If you think you're not in show business, think again. Shakespeare said, 'All the world's a stage and all its men and women merely players.’ Mostly true. But you're not merely players. You are messengers and ambassadors for the King of kings.