Raisin' Young'ns

 5 min. read

I thank God that I grew up in a much simpler time. My younger days were spent back when The Andy Griffith Show was still a prime time program, and not just in syndication. I think many in America, who remember this era, look back with fondness as well. It was a season when right morals were more of a rule, rather than the exception.

The show -- as most of us are familiar with --  was built around a widowed, small town sheriff who took his civic duty and the well-being of his young son very seriously. This is not to say that Hollywood is where we should be looking for moral guidance; but rather it serves to illustrate just how far we've drifted as a nation and a people.

One of the lessons we can glean from the golden days of Tinseltown, was first broadcast Monday November 13, 1961 on The Andy Griffith Show. In this episode "Opie's Hobo Friend", we see the exchange between Sheriff Taylor and the drifter -- played by Buddy Ebsen -- that Opie had befriended. The episode certainly gives rise to the question: should we trust the training of our children with worldly philosophy, or biblical principles?

"Hobo: Well, Sheriff, maybe I do look at things differently than other people. Is that wrong? I live by my wits. I'm not above bending the law now and then to keep clothes on my back or food in my stomach. I live the kind of life that other people would just love to live if they only had the courage. Who's to say that the boy would be happier your way or mine? Why not let him decide?"

"Sheriff Taylor : Naw, I'm afraid it don't work that way. You can't let a young 'un decide for himself. He'll grab at the first flashy thing with shiny ribbons on it, then when he finds out there's a hook in it, it's too late. The wrong ideas come packaged with so much glitter it's hard to convince him that other things might be better in the long run, and all a parent can do is say wait, trust me, and try to keep temptation away."

The first few verses of chapter 6 in the book of Deuteronomy give guidance as to how we, as responsible parents, should be teaching our children. Fathers are going to be held accountable for the spiritual leadership -- or lack thereof -- in the lives of their children. We see clear instructions laid out in the Word of God. In Deuteronomy 6:6-7 we find,

"And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up."

The spiritual and moral decline we are witnessing in America can be most assuredly laid at the doorstep of apathy towards the Word of God. Not only is apathy a key component, but it also brings a total disregard for the moral responsibility we, as parents, owe to our children. If we continue down the path of letting our children figure life out as they go, we will continue setting them up for failure.

In the wake of all of the bad examples our children are witnessing today, it may serve us well to harken back to a day when most people did try to do right by their children. A time when even Hollywood hadn't gone totally down the road to debauchery that we see them traveling today.

Mark Twain invited his audience back to a simpler time in the opening of his book about the character Tom Sawyer. 

"Part of my plan has been to try to pleasantly remind adults of what they once were themselves, and of how they felt and thought and talked, and what queer enterprises they sometimes engaged in."

If we let children make their own decisions, especially today, we may certainly begin seeing them engaging in "queer enterprises"; the likes of which Samuel Langhorne Clemens could have never imagined. 

The Bible gives us some insight to where we were as children, and where the hearts of our children are today.

Proverbs 22:15 states,

"Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him."

Ever since around 1946, when we decided to trade the church and the Bible for Dr. Benjamin Spock and so-called common sense: we've continued in a downward spiral towards a depraved society.

The advice Andy Taylor leaves us concerning our children, "all a parent can do is say wait, trust me, and try to keep temptation away", is certainly a good start: an even better approach however is...

Let's trust and wait on God and look to His word to keep temptation at bay.

"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." (Proverbs 22:6)

"To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen."  

My dear friend, if you have never received Christ as your Saviour, would you do so today? Pray this from your heart. 

Dear Jesus, I know I am a sinner. I believe you died on the cross for my sins. I believe you were buried and rose the third day. I ask you now to forgive me of my sins and come into my heart and save me. Amen