Parents: Teach your children to behave

BallPoint
By Allen Ball

April 26, 2010

When actor Steve McQueen, one of the coolest stars to ever grace the silver screen, developed cancer, he turned to "the Lord" for comfort and help. After 9/11, many people in America turned to God for comfort. Members of Congress, Democrats and Republicans, stood on the steps of our nation's Capitol and sang Irving Berlin's soul-stirring "God Bless America.

Tragedy is the catalyst that can turn a heart of stone into malleable putty. It can turn a cocky swagger into a humble, ponderous gait. Suffering that comes as a result of almost unbearable emotional or physical pain, that leads one to seek God's grace and comfort, is called redemptive suffering.

Many children have never known hardship. They've never known poverty. They've never felt debilitating grief. They've never experienced adversity. And adversity builds character.

It's a sad fact that, counterintuitively, the humanity of nations lessens in direct proportion to its increase in prosperity. Albert Einstein said that technology dehumanizes people. He was spot on. Many children and many adults are addicted to their cell phones, iPods, and Blackberries. These gadgets are detrimental to developing social skills. Today, on Fox News Network, (Sunday, April 25, 2010) it was reported that some "young adults are addicted to social media." Without it they experience "cravings and withdrawals."

There is a way for children to develop character and compassion, without experiencing tragedy and hardships. That way is through parents. Parents can instill those qualities in their children. The first thing to do is take children to a good church. You may be saying to yourself, no way, church is not cool. After all, Hollywood and the liberal press have given Christianity a bad image. Christians have been portrayed as hate-mongering, homophobic, ignorant weaklings, by liberals, gays, and atheists. But if you want your children to grow up with character take them to church where they will learn about Jesus Christ, a man of character who spoke only of love, mercy, faith, and compassion.

Unfortunately, many parents are too busy trying to be "hip" like their children or too busy trying to be a friend to their children, rather than being a teacher imparting wisdom to their children.

Is Tiger Woods cool? He's not a Christian. He is a liar and a cheater. Is Jesse James, soon to be ex-husband of lovely actress Sandra Bullock, cool? He's no Christian. He is a liar and a cheater. Were Hitler, Mussolini, Mao Zedong, Stalin, and Saddam Hussein cool? They weren't Christians. They were, however, mass murderers.

Did you know that some of the coolest people on the planet are Christians? Bob Dylan is a Christian. George Harrison, of the Beatles, was a Christian. Did you know that John Lennon consulted, I believe it was, with Oral Roberts, once, for spiritual advice. Elvis Presley was a Christian. William F. Buckley, Jr. was a Christian. Dolly Parton is a Christian. Despite their failings and public humiliations, Glen Campbell and Mel Gibson are Christians. Johnny Cash was a Christian.

World War I was not started by Christians, neither was World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, or the Civil War.

Christians didn't bomb Pearl Harbor. Christians didn't fly planes into the World Trade Center towers. It wasn't a Christian who fired a bullet into the body of President Ronald Reagan. It wasn't a Christian who mercilessly shot John Lennon multiple times, killing him outside of the Dakota Building in New York City. It wasn't a Christian who shot and killed John Kennedy. It wasn't a Christian who shot and killed Robert Kennedy. It wasn't a Christian who shot and killed Martin Luther King. It wasn't a Christian who shot and killed Lee Harvey Oswald. It wasn't a Christian who nailed Jesus to a cross.

The Red Cross was not created by atheists. Harvard was not built by atheists. America was not founded by atheists. They were founded by Christians. Harvard College was founded in 1636 as Puritan/Congregationalist institution, and trained ministers for many years.

It is not Christians who have threatened the lives of the creators of South Park; it is Muslims, offended and angered by a one-time mocking of Muhammad. Jesus is mocked routinely on South Park, but unlike Muslims, Christians don't kill people who disagree with them or mock their leader and savior, Jesus.

A Roman emperor used Christianity to stabilize the Roman empire, where Godless rulers took the lives of their own children, mothers, fathers, and siblings to obtain and maintain power.

If a Godless Roman emperor recognized the value of Christianity in his world, why can't we recognize the value of Christianity in ours?

Parents---teach your children to behave. And allow them to learn from the greatest teacher of all---Jesus Christ.