Who's Minding The Home?

These are some interesting times we are living in. We all seem to have good days and bad days. We worry now more than ever about our future. Look around you, young people are committing suicide. So many of them don’t even believe in a future. They live for the moment and don’t even think of the consequences. There is a difference between appreciating life and living for the moment. But how can you make them aware of this when as an adult you are faced with complex problems of your own? More importantly, are you still there to help guide your children in these troubling times. So many parents ignore their children when these youngsters need guidance from the family than the streets. Have we as parents failed our children? Are we more irresponsible than they are? I was offsite today visiting an upstate agency. I was shown some statistics regarding teenagers from 12-16 years old that would rival adult criminal activity. I’m talking about rape, attempted murder, manslaughter, breaking & entering, drug dealing, theft, vandalism, and even illegal internet activity. These are but a few of these major offenses committed by this particular age group. There were some 10 year olds involved, too. What makes it worse is that these numbers are in the city, not the county. I was told major efforts towards mentoring, finding community support, did not bring the kids to any of these positive activities. Why? Will the excuse single parents can’t raise their kids fly? I don’t think so. If anything, many of them try harder to raise their children. I sincerely believe that when religion and discipline was taken out of the schools, our children’s future went down hill. Children are raising children, classmates are raising each other, and modern technology (games, computers, cellphones, etc.) are helping raise the children, too! Neighbors, during my time, were involved in the each others’ welfare. Now when you return to your roots, nothing looks the same. You might find that there are no flowers, no well-manicured lawns, no fruit trees, and no pride in the homes and community. I heard on the radio coming back that a radio announcer was frustrated with television entertainment ministers and television entertainment academicians. They are selling their show and books. They both preach and use well intended words eloquently, but don’t put forth any actions. In other words, they talk a good game, but can’t back it up. Money talks, BS walks. It’s easier to criticize what others do wrong when you don’t do anything yourself. Yes, neighborhood churches have a lot of ministries and need the money to fund them but how many are actually walking the neighborhood and bringing the church to the people?