The Christian Bubble Is Not Bulletproof

Last week we looked at our call to raise our children unto the Lord and for HIS purposes. We questioned whether we should have a Protection-First mentality or an Empowerment-Focused approach. We saw that the Protection-First mentality was not true to God’s call on our children’s life. (or ours for that matter)

However, I did want to acknowledge that there is nothing wrong with being wise and protecting our children’s moral innocence as long as we can. For example, the boy who grows up through his teen years without any exposure to pornography will be a boy with a lot fewer fights against sexual temptation. Therefore, last week’s CC was not meant to completely dismiss protecting our children. It was meant to keep the priority on raising our children so that they are fit and ready to do battle for God’s kingdom.

Today I would like to touch on the limits of our protection. We are blessed to have a great school for our children to be in that focuses on God’s standards for the Christian life without being legalistic. We are also blessed to be in a community of like-minded parents who also seek to raise children to live for the Lord.

However, we should not fool ourselves into thinking that the environment itself will keep my child safe from harm. The Christian bubble is not bulletproof. Some of us know families who have done a great job in selecting a school, selecting good friends, and filling their child’s life with great activities. Yet their son or daughter fell prey to some type of danger or temptation.

I had a close friend whose teenage son died of a fentanyl overdose, long before it was commonplace. I had some other close friends whose teenage daughter got pregnant. We have also had several Veritas students fight with the temptation to attempt suicide and one early Veritas family that moved away that lost a child to suicide.

Most of these parents never dreamt that this could happen to their child.

Are there things we can do to limit these possibilities? Are there ways to see these things coming in our children’s lives so that we can head them off at the pass? Are there ways to help prepare our children for these temptations so that they are not caught unaware either? And how do we best respond if something like this comes into our home?

This is the purpose of Discussions with Christopher, the monthly series of workshops just prior to pick up. This month, on Tuesday, Nov. 8, at 2 PM in Room 5, we will discuss Suicide — awareness, prevention, and how to discuss with your children should someone they know commits suicide.

Though we can’t bulletproof our Christian bubble, there are ways to be wiser, more proactive, and less fearful. Forewarned is forearmed. Jesus taught His disciples to be as wise as serpents and as harmless as doves. Let us prepare ourselves and our children with wisdom.

Call me a Prepper, Christopher