Shock Value
Shock Value
A few weeks ago I was enjoying the fellowship of some of my best friends. All guys, we were sitting around, as guys do, and talking about our wives, family, God, ourselves, etc. One of our number brought up the provocative subject of tattoos. He was thinking of getting one. You can imagine this caused no small stir among us as we debated the appropriateness of a Christian sporting a permanent decal. In the midst of the debate I asked him why he was considering a tat- too. He said, "To shock the hell out of Christians and non-Christians alike!" He further explained his motivation that neither pagans nor Christians expect someone who lives for God to have a tattoo. He wanted to be unconventional, different, a standout in our cookie cutter world.
I agree with sentiment, but I told him if he really wanted to shock everyone, instead of participating in the latest "radical" fad, simply get rid of his television and catechize his children. Consider Brianna.
At 3 1/2 years old she can answer 46 questions of the Children's Catechism. She can quote 45 Bible verses, and give you chapter and verse. When it comes to singing she can select up to 25 hymns that she knows by heart. She can also recite the Apostle's Creed with ease as well as the answer to the first question of the Heidelberg Catechism.
The novelty of this description is that Brianna is not a child prodigy. By all empirical evidence she possesses normal intelligence. She loves playing with toys, eating ice cream, looking at books, and listening to her father tell stories.
But to those who have had the opportunity to join her family for worship, she is an anomaly. People are literally awed as they observe her ability to participate with her parents in reciting with ease and singing with joy during their time of family worship.
And that is strange
Strange because this could be the average behavior among all covenant children. The kids have the ability. They can recognize an almost exhaustive number of characters and their personalities from books, videos, and television. They know the plot and story lines of almost every movie, book or video they have been through more than once. They anticipate and can tell you from scene to scene what will happen next, to whom, and how all others involved will react.
Their ability to learn is constant and amazing. They are absorbing information and values, and developing character now. Right now.
Of course this is no surprise to God. That is the reason He gave us specific instructions regarding the content of their early development.
"Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it." (Proverbs 22:6)
"These words which I command you this day shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up." (Deuteronomy 6:6- 7).
"And you fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord." (Ephesians 6:4)
Note that these verses not only include the mandate that we teach our children the Word of God, but also imply that they have the ability to learn. This education process is also done in a real-life context. Parental responsibility cannot be delegated to a school teacher, or Sunday School class, or Christian day-care.
The present superficiality of knowledge and practice among Christians causes many of us to desire an identifying mark that will let everyone recognize us as different from the herd. When we decide to live the way outlined in the Bible we escape from the normal to the truly radical. And we are to be rebels with the Cause.