The little ones...

Not too long ago Becky and I would cradle our girls in our arms.  They would sit on our laps and listen to a story or fade into peaceful repose.  We felt at once the burden of parenthood and the blessing of God.  We prayed that God would give us wisdom for the few things we knew about raising children and begged him to take over everything else.  The following words of Jesus came to mind often, encouraging us at the most difficult times.

"He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them, 'Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.'"

--Mark 9:36-37

How many times did we cradle our girls in our arms when we didn't know what else to do?  God has enabled Becky to extend her arms to whole classrooms and schools.  So many children crave the love and embrace of an adult in their lives, somebody they can trust to love them no matter what.

The more ominous words Jesus spoke as he held that same little child have been ringing in my ears in recent years.

"And if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck."

--Mark 9:42

What causes little ones to sin?  What causes them to grow into productive human beings?

As an educator I have spent more time thinking about he latter question than the former one, so that's where we'll start.  It may come as a surprise to some, but the academic world stands firmly together on this matter.  Children raised by their two biological parents in a low conflict, loving household do better by far than children from any other arrangement.  The difference is remarkably dramatic.  Even the members of the United Nations support this notion without dissent.

I find it mind boggling that, given the words of Jesus and nearly universal academic agreement, we should be facing the destruction of traditional marriage in this election.  Yet people who identify with Jesus align with those that choose to cohabit outside the bounds of traditional marriage and campaign against California Proposition 8. Prop 8 simply states, "Only marriage between one man and one woman will be legally recognized in the State of California."  The defeat of this measure will destroy by definition the societal institution that cares for children best.  Personal satisfaction, and fear of being labeled a "hater," seem to outweigh any concern for the future of our society and the little ones who will live in it as adults.

What causes children to sin?  I find this question to be much more difficult to address.  On the surface it seems obvious that anything less than the the ideal home situation makes it more likely that children will do wrong.  However, when I look at our home, I find it to be anything but ideal.  Yes, our girls have never known any parents but Becky and me, their biological parents.  Yet we are far from perfect and our household far from conflict free.

Many in academia rail against Proverbs 22:15:

"Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, 

       but the rod of discipline will drive it far from him."

Proverbs simply starts with the fundamental assumption that the moral DNA of every child is utterly corrupt.  It prescribes a firm and unbending treatment to drive the corruption out of them, "the rod of discipline."  Dr. James Dobson's Dare to Discipline, does an excellent job of explaining this process.  It takes great strength and a self-emptying kind of love to apply the rod well, the kind that can only exist in a traditional marriage where both parents care for the child at the cellular level.

Academics universally acknowledge that traditional families support the growth of children best.  They find little agreement about how traditional families do this.  However, even practices based upon the assumption that people are innately good work better in the context of a traditional marriage.

I earnestly urge all Californians who must decide the fate of Proposition 8, to think about the little ones as they cast their vote.  The prospect of a dip in deep waters with a millstone necklace does not appeal to me.  But that image will fade as I wrap my arms around the children of California when I mark "Yes" on Proposition 8.

--Scot