Rocky Road Devotions: Age of Offense

Thursday, March 30, 2023

Age of Offense - Part 1

Thursday, March 30, 2023

Don’t fail to discipline your children. The rod of punishment won’t kill them. Proverbs 23:13

We live in an age of offense. It has been legitimized to take-offense at any words or actions of another person or group, particularly those who don’t share your opinion. Mass shootings in schools are prima facie evidence of just how far the Age of Offense has deepened into human culture in the 21^st century. Nothing seems off the table when it comes to retaliating for supposed offenses.

Monday’s shooting at a Christian school in Nashville marked the 89^th shooting in an American K-12 school in the three months of this year; that’s more than one-a-day, which puts us on pace for 378 shootings this year, far-surpassing last year’s 303[1]. This chart shows, in the last 11 years (2012-2023), annual mass K-12 shootings have increased by more than 15-fold (from 20 to 300 per year).

While I was writing the above words I received a text from my daughter in Florida asking for prayer for her boys, both in the same high school, on lockdown because of guns on campus. It’s been an anxious 30 minutes, but the school is closed now, and boys are on the way home. These events torture the hearts and minds of the families and communities involved, as well as the understanding of all who just want to live in peace. The questions flow…why this? – where did it come from? – how do we stop it?

With those questions flooding my mind, I believe this deserves a wide-open conversation…not just in Washington over the weapon issues, or new laws, or even having armed guards, or (heaven-forbid), arming teachers. I believe we need to openly discuss what has been too much back-burner for the churches. I’m acquainted with some ministers who never address marriage and family issues from the pulpit, as they are too controversial. That must end. What good is gathering each week for just a rehash of the wonderful love of God, but never applying that love by helping families grow to be stronger disciples.

Strong disciples of Jesus make excellent parents. Excellent parents are not afraid to set boundaries that keep their kids safe and sane. Kids that grow up with loving parents, who are Biblically-based, lavishing genuine love on tender-age children (unselfishly doing the best for their children), become well-balanced kids, who grow up to be loving and unselfish, not taking offense at every little thing.

Now, please don’t get the idea that I’m proposing a one-size-fits-all model of parenting that is guaranteed to turn kids out like you want them. I am talking about the direction parenting must take to lead children to the way God wants for them.

Over the next several days we will talk about the home, and how God expects us to raise AND discipline our children, as God has instructed. Anyone can disagree with me on this; I do not claim to be a prophet or have all the answers. What I do claim is that God’s Word does.

For You Today

If you doubt the Word of God has a better way than what has been taught in schools and in the violent, perverted, media-driven social-engineering of the last several decades, stay-tuned…you ain’t see nothin’ yet!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

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There are about 2,500 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions library. To dig deeper explore some of these: How Was Your Weekend? and Following the Leader

Title Image: Pixabay.com 1 & 2 Images without citation are in public domain.