Every family across our country has had mitigation instructions passed on to them that have profoundly impacted our lives. How have we done? What do we do with this “reset” of our life styles and priorities? Extreme changes such as this mitigation often reveal what is in our hearts. It also exposes the hearts of our children while we have the time to observe. These types of changes simply “take the top off” and exposes what we really are.
Ignorance and arrogance behave in similar ways. Ignorance is “lacking knowledge, information, or awareness about a particular thing.” We have certainly had a lot to learn and the changes keep coming. The definition of arrogance is “someone who is full of self-worth or self-importance and who tells and shows that they have a feeling of superiority over others.” The person who doesn’t social distance or wear a mask could be behaving out of ignorance, simply not knowing any different.
The same choice could be made out of arrogance; I’m too important so the rules don’t apply to me. Proverbs 18:12 (NLT): “Haughtiness goes before destruction; humility precedes honor.” We have an opportunity to “train up our children” and teach them humility through this journey. Proverbs 15:33 (NLT): “Fear of the LORD teaches wisdom; humility precedes honor.” Their wants are not most important right now. They can survive not seeing their friends. Don’t allow exceptions simply because they “demand” it. Boredom is an attitude, not reality. What measures are we implementing to make this a journey of teaching our children so that they are learning self-discipline and compassion for others?
3 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.
Philippians 2:3-4 (NLT)
One of the most challenging results of this quarantine is the “downtime” our children have. This can be very dangerous. Children thrive when there is structure and expectation. Proverbs 13:4 (NLT) states that “Lazy people want much but get little, but those who work hard will prosper.” As parents, let’s think “outside the box” and fill their time with physical responsibilities around our house or at the neighbors’. Don’t let the “downtime” draw them to technology to the degree of being emotionally unhealthy. If we give in and allow them to hang out with friends, the downtime becomes even more dangerous. Having nowhere to go is a lesson in self-discipline and gratitude. Proverbs 29:23 (NLT): “Pride ends in humiliation, while humility brings honor.”
We don’t want to “mitigate the mitigation” because this cultivates arrogance. Arrogance brings its own set of heartache and disappointment; and possibly down the road a ways, it may invite the law into our children’s lives.
