This past week I have been trying earnestly to ensure that daily life is better underpinned by prayer and the scriptures. Its part of trying to live my faith a bit more fully. Not always a success but I'll keep persevering.
Whilst without a bit of expert help I find the scriptures anything but easy to work out, part of today's reading from St Mark was anything but. “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.” That struck a chord coming as it did at the end of the week when we have faced some difficult challenges about our relationships with children and the way they are raised today.
Yesterday the horrific details of a convicted paedophile ring came out in court. A couple of days earlier the suicides of Fiona Pilkington and her daughter Francecca were equally shocking reading, primarily because the culprits were teenage kids allowed full licence to roam and create mayhem by their parents and the local community. Today the conviction of five youths for the murder of a 65 year old man who confronted a gang who happened to be destroying his garden fence continues the run of shocking stories. How can the parents of children who are paedophiles, members of feral gangs or just simply sociopathic live with themselves. Equally are they now asking themselves where it all went wrong?
As a parent I know how challenging raising children can be. It is a constant series of judgements aimed at striking the right balance between letting your child take decisions for themselves whilst protecting them the worst the world can throw at them; giving them space to develop relationships among their peer group whilst keeping them rooted in preparing them for the rigours of the adult world; setting boundaries for them without attempting to put them into a straitjacket. Its not just children either that need help. Being a parent is also an educative process.
The stories of the past week are grotesque and not typical of the everyday story of raising children as experienced in most households. But I see little evidence that these stories will never be repeated again. Child abuse is shocking but abusive children are surely no more acceptable. I see a case for taking a long hard look at our values as a society in raising children. Jesus has set the bar impossibly high but we now live in a secular society. So those who believe they have more to offer in terms of moral leadership need to engage in some serious rethinking around where we are now. And to kick off, parenting and childcare in particular needs to be seen for what it really is - stewardship of the most precious assets of our world. If that basic proposition can be accepted then it is starter for creating a culture where we value the value of parents and genuinely support them in getting on top of a really tough job.
No comments:
Post a Comment