Sadly and alarmingly it is becoming common that kids are
killing kids in schools. I am sure (prayerfully) that some “think tank”
somewhere in the world is taking on the issue and that our psychological
community is looking into why so many of these kids are doing what they do.
Perhaps we need the Christian community to start stepping up and take the lead
on how to help these troubled kids before they try to heal themselves by
hurting others. You and I both know in order for that to happen it would literally
take an act of Congress. I wonder if our nation’s leaders will ever come to the
conclusion that keeping God out of people’s lives is not improving our society.
Let me tell you about Ivanhoe Elementary School in 1969. I
was a seventh grader that year. In the Fall, when squirrel season would open, I
would take my 22 caliber rifle to school, as did a couple of my other buds, and
we would put our box of bullets on the shelf in our coat closet and prop our
rifles up in the corner. After school was out we would venture into the forest
behind the school to hunt squirrels. That is hard to believe in this day and
time I know, but we did that. Now let me tell you something else that took
place every year I was in that school. One day every week, I think it was on
Friday, we had two ladies that would come into our classroom and tell us Bible
stories, sing songs with us, and at Christmas would help us make little crafts
as gifts. Miss Pauline Zarfoss and Miss Anna Hess were their names. We called them the Bible
Teachers. I think about every school in our County had them visit. We loved
them because they showed the love of God to us old rowdy boys as well as the
girls. They would always read us a Bible story out of the Bible and then they
would have prayer with us before leaving the room headed to the next class. It
was the presence of God in their lives and in our school by way of these ladies
that kept the wiles of the devil at bay in our classrooms. Those teachings
followed us into high school and even into our adult life. I still have one of
the Christmas crafts I made in 1965 in my office at the church.
So what are you trying to say preacher? That allowing Bible
teaching back in the schools would solve our kids killing kid’s issue? Well, it
would be a start. Apparently the security procedures that we think will help
are not helping. If we are going to impact these kids behavior then we are
going to have focus on them as individuals. We are going to have to make them
aware of the One who can help them deal with the hurt, pain, frustration, anger
and confusion that they feel inside which secular methods are apparently
failing to do. I doubt we will ever get back to the point that kids can take
their 22 rifles to school even if they could find a place to squirrel hunt, but
maybe some Bible teachers could impact their lives as they did mine in such a
way that they too will understand killing each other is not the answer to healing our
own hurt and that there is a Creator that really does love us and care about
us; as individuals. I believe Jesus can solve the kids killing kids problem,
how about you?
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