I am filled with so much anger right now as I write this blog, and I truly, deeply believe that it is nothing short of righteous anger.
Why you ask? Because I am so tired of seeing the world take advantage of and treat children as if they are nothing more than dirt. This morning in the church service there were so many children and each day that we have been here the numbers have grown. As people go up to do a song and dance for the church, the children get out of their seats and fill the aisle to watch them sing their hearts out to God. When the preacher comes up, when the offering is being made, the children come because they want to see; they want to hear and I have noticed above all they want to worship and have a taste of the Father too. And the whole morning all the adults did was yell at them and literally shove and push them away. The adults that were performing their dances would come up the aisles and continue on their routine even if it meant knocking a child over and nearly step on them. Yesterday during our evening, outdoor service, an old lady came in and pushed a child out of a chair to sit down with her umbrella. I thought to myself that’s weird, I don’t see a single rain cloud in the sky, but maybe it’s a walking stick. No, she used it to hit the children whenever they would talk or stand up to see what was happening. She took a doll made out of sticks and a broken fire truck away from two little ones because they were playing during the sermon. Then at the end of the service we were trying to play with and dance with the kids and adults came over to shoo them away and started slapping them. I was so furious! I came back to my room because I couldn’t sit there and watch this any longer. I battled with grabbing that woman’s hand and telling her no, but in this culture I would have disrespected her so much I’d probably be shunned from the village forever. And here Dani just finished talking about true love and “if we have not love then we are only a resounding gong. “
As I lay here in my bed writing this blog, I am thinking about how children are treated all over the world and what it does to the Father’s heart. It makes me sick just thinking of the atrocities: child sacrifice, child prostitution and pornography, child soldiers, slavery, and every kind of abuse you can imagine. And America and Canada, you are not free from this guilt either. You may not be strapping an AK47 to your son’s back and you may not be stripping you’re daughter down and putting her in brothels, but you have hindered your children from knowing Jesus in so many ways.
I hate that children are always shushed. What does this tell them?—Be quiet, your voice isn’t worth hearing. You have nothing important to say.
I hate it when people beat children. What does this say?—You are not worth my respect and honor. You are not worth my humanity. And in turn all it does is teach a child, that when they become older they too can hit anyone lower and younger than them.
I hate it when people always scold and never praise a child. What does this say?—You are always doing wrong and never right. You are not good. You are bad.
I hate it when people never cuddle, laugh with, and play with children. What does this say?—You are not delightful. You are a task, not a desire.
And then on the other hand of things, I hate it when parents let their children get away with everything and allow them to do what they want, when they want and where they want. What does this teach?—That a culture of dishonor is okay and that others should be silenced; others are not worth their humanity; others are unworthy; and that others aren’t worth delighting in.
Jesus said: “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them!”
When we shame a child, when we silence a child, when we abuse a child, and when we do not teach them to love their neighbors, we are stopping them from coming to Jesus and from coming to the Father and I can only imagine how furious that makes God. Each child comes into this world because God has willed them to. He created them in their mother’s womb and thought it was a wonderful and beautiful idea to create them. If you abuse a child, you abuse the heart of God! If you mess with the children, you mess with Him! Over and over and over again the Bible talks about God being a Father and even though humans range in age, He still refers to us as children. God loves being a Dad! And He knows how to do it so very well.
So now that I have all of this anger what do I do with it?
I don’t believe that anger is bad. It is a natural emotion that even Jesus experienced…but over and over again the Bible warns us of the evil that can become of our anger, and many of us can testify to the horrible things that have come from someone’s poorly directed anger. The difference between most human anger and the way Jesus used His anger was JUSTICE.
Anger has the power to move us to seek justice. And so we must never sin in our anger but be angry at the things that make God angry and then do something to stop that bad thing from happening. I believe that when people mistreat children, God gets angry and so I am angry, but I am choosing to use my anger for justice. And so I am working on a project to buy the local children here shoes. So many of them go without shoes on their feet and this can stop a child from being allowed in school and can cause worm infections to develop as well. Along with the abuse, it breaks my heart to see these kids walk around barefoot, caked in mud and sores. No child should go without shoes; not one. And so because at this point in time I cannot stop the abuse many of them are dealing with, perhaps I can get them shoes, which means perhaps they can go to school and in turn do great things with their life through all that education has to offer. This doesn`t solve all the problems children face in this world, but for a few, one pair of shoes could change everything.
And so two things I have learned: firstly, we have a responsibility to never, ever hinder the children from coming to Jesus; and secondly, in our anger we must never sin, but always, always choose to respond with justice!
What are you doing with your anger?
