Key Issues

Christian Protocol

I have Faith, but I ain't preachy. I am, however, well enough educated in matters of the cloth to know when I'm sinning and feel the appropriate measure of guilt, as is the intent of the Southern Baptist. To them, I am a failure fo sho.

Anyhoo, regarding any sort of disagreement, there are rules of engagement that Brethren must adhere to, should they have any hope of being deemed in the right. This conditional exoneration matters more to some than others, but allow me to continue...

Simply, one is to take it first to the source of the dispute, then if unresolved it advances to the attention of the elders, and so forth.

Of course, the Bible also demands that we are to "obey the laws of the land," and so occasionally, local PD trumps the hierarchy.

On with the story...
Summer opens the doors of the Bible belt churches more frequently, and often houses the pent-up energy of our youth.

Recently, some boys decided to pick the site of a local church to bully a much younger boy. Six on two, smaller kids cornered, blows thrown repeatedly.

Before I continue, let me assure that the kids are fine. Well, no major injuries. Cuts, bruises, and the incident not doing much for still forming psyches, but otherwise okay.

Meanwhile, I find this disturbing. This is not a playground scrap. This is unprovoked bullying within a church atmosphere.

Given my compilation of observations, it would appear to me that here lies a segment of society once known for discipline, now emasculated, weakened over the past 15 years or so.

But to continue with the story...
Obviously thereafter lied parental v. parental confrontation. The response? Unbelting and tearing loose on the ruffians? No, that would be rash, harsh even.

"We need to have a meeting. Let us ask our boys why they felt the need to confront yours. We need to know if the situation was provoked in any way." That's right. What were they feeling? Perhaps they were punishing them, six on two, for their sins...

Meanwhile, I was raised to be terrified of "casting the first stone," having never myself been "without sin." None-the-less, I think I would have been tearing up some ass, were the perps my boys.

We don't do our children any favors by defending such behavior. That is so painfully obvious that I'm shocked to find myself typing it. I'm appalled though, that while I wasn't looking, the wussified influence seems to have begun an infiltration process even within the former "spare the rod and spoil the child" crowd.

Furthermore, assuming Christian protocol is not respected in such cases, these boys could easily find themselves in juvenile detention, with defending attorneys rather than defensive parents. (And personally, I'm not so sure that doesn't need to happen...)

I write this perhaps for myself. I am a loving, overprotective, strict disciplinarian. I have been accused of having a "lack of compassion," but I consider it "selective compassion." When children deserve compassion, they should get it. When they're wrong, they're wrong. They should know it.

The gray only confuses developing character. As an adult, I can take Live's advice and "learn to appreciate the beauty of gray," but with children, the laws of budding character need be in stone.

(And that is a lesson that I would have rather learned in my youth.)