I’m sure you know that children sometimes push the limit to see what they can get away with. One of my earliest memories involves just that. The result was my father’s belt being applied to my keister.
I was around 4-years old. My partner in crime — my kid sister Denise — would have been between two and three. Mom and dad rented a house on the corner of Walnut and Franklin in Owensville. They were enjoying a rare night away from us. The babysitter was an older woman who was unable to follow us to our bedroom on the second floor. My sister and I took advantage of this unexpected freedom.
A week earlier, mom hung new wallpaper on our bedroom walls. Our young minds thought the new wallpaper needed more color, so we improved the design…with crayons.
That evening dad taught me a valuable lesson with his belt — there are limits to what I can do.
Limits placed by parents teach children self-discipline, keeps them safe and healthy and shows them they are loved.
One of any parent’s most important responsibilities is teaching self-discipline. An old saying is, “Anyone without self-discipline in society will be disciplined through the police and our justice system.”
Another lesson my father taught me was that there are consequences for our actions.
The U.S. Supreme Court, in a series of three decisions in 1962 and 1963, removed the Bible and prayer from our public schools.
Education expert William Jeynes said this has led to five adverse developments in our schools:
• Academic achievement has plummeted, including SAT scores.
• Increased rate of out-of-wedlock births
• Increase in illegal drug use
• Increase in juvenile crime
• Deterioration of school behavior
“So we need to realize that these actions do have consequences,” said Jeynes, professor of education at California State University, “When we remove that moral fiber — that moral emphasis — this is what can result.”
The top five complaints of teachers from 1940-1962 were talking, chewing gum, making noise, running in the halls and getting out of turn in line. I’m willing to bet that those are not on teachers’ radar in 2023.
Coinciding with the removal of teaching morals in our schools has been the reduction in the belief in God.
Gallup’s annual poll last May showed only 81 percent of Americans believe in God. This is down from 87 percent in 2017 and 98 percent in 1967.
The report from the poll says, “The groups with the largest declines are also the groups that are currently least likely to believe in God, including liberals (62 percent), young adults (68 percent) and Democrats (72 percent). Belief in God is highest among political conservatives (94 percent) and Republicans (92 percent), reflecting that religiosity is a major determinant of political divisions in the U.S.”
Atheists claim there is no God, no soul, and of course no afterlife. My contention is this also has a consequence. If someone does not believe humans have a soul, it is easier to surmise that another individual’s life has no more value than another animal’s.
In a 2018 article at www.CatholicBusinessJournal.com, Ken Lambert confirms my hypothesis. After studying 69 mass shootings in the U.S. from 1998 to 2018, he found that only 6 percent — 4 out of 69 — were Christian. He concludes, “An overwhelming 84 percent of the murderers were atheist or agnostic. They had no religion at all. None! If one is religious and believes in a higher calling or Spirit, they know that killing another is gruesomely wrong.”
After a mass shooting, the national media always discuss gun control, racism and mental illness. The subject of God is rarely breached.
—————————
Parents, love your children unconditionally as our heavenly Father loves us, teach them self-discipline, to be moral and most importantly, to love God.
On Palm Sunday, our pastor at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Owensville left us with a beautiful message. I want to share it with you. A little over 2,000 years ago, the devil’s worst nightmare came true when Jesus Christ died for our sins. That makes Holy Week the worst time of the year for the devil. So he works overtime to tempt us this week. Be on your guard.
May you all have a blessed Easter.
