Raising Kids in the Age of Foolishness

There are enough fools in the world!

Raising Kids in the Age of Foolishness: Foundational Traits of Wisdom #7 Spiritual Fruitfulness

Proverbs 11:30 “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and the one who is wise saves lives.”

Wisdom and life are connected. Foolishness destroys. Wisdom saves. The outcome of wisdom is righteousness, and the outcome of folly is evil. Remember the tree of life in the garden. Adam and Eve chose the wrong tree. Evil was unleashed upon the world. The world has been eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil ever since. The tree opens our eyes to shame and banishment. When we raise foolish children, we perpetuate the garden story. But when we raise wise children, we plant trees of life. Our world needs to be reforested. In my first trip to Haiti around 1985, I noticed there were no trees on the island mountains. They had all been cut down to make charcoal. The island was a place of death. Foolishness ruled a nation that was once paradise.

One day people will gather under the tree you have planted inside your children. If it is a tree of life, others will partake and live. The fruit of wisdom will fall from the lips and lives of your children to nourish others. If foolishness falls from the tree, many will be corrupted. Many can be saved if you do your job well. As I watch my children today, I see each of them as a tree of life. Those who gather under their branches eat the fruit of righteousness. This is the proof of how I raised them. I am so thankful I did not raise a bunch of fools. Now for you parents who did your best to raise wise children, and who got one who turned out to be a bad tree, it may not be your fault. Everyone has a choice. I am sure the fruit is bitter. But I encourage you to dig around the tree of your child, fertilize it, and wait and see if good fruit is still possible. Don’t cut it down too soon.

How do you grow a tree of life? I have learned that any plant requires constant attention. We must water and fertilize. We must trim and break up the soil. We must weed around the plant. We must tend our little gardens. Some parents give more attention to their manicured lawns than they do to their children. Jesus said, “Wisdom is proved right by her children.”  THERE ARE ENOUGH FOOLS IN THE WORLD