Raising Kids in the Age of Foolishness

There are enough fools in the world!

Raising Kids in the Age of Foolishness: Learning to Love Wisdom and Hate Scoffing

Proverbs 1:22 “How long, you naive ones, will you love simplistic thinking? And how long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate knowledge?”

Learning to love wisdom begins with giving up the love of naïve thinking. The wise man asks, “How long?” How long will a naïve person cling to their naivete? Some people never graduate from simple thinking. They love staying in the shallow waters of life. The naïve person must understand they are making a love choice. Remember the two greatest commands concern love, love for God and love for others. Simple-minded people are in love with themselves. It takes wisdom to love God and others well. I must apply the principles of prudence, knowledge, and discretion to love well. The naïve person loves their simple ways because it requires nothing of them. To train our children we must instill in them a priority of love, beginning with God, then others, with self being last.

The evidence of misplaced love is the scoffer. The scoffer does not take life seriously. Everything is a joke. This is how the scoffer dismisses responsibility to love God and others. They simply laugh it off. They sneer and demean and poke fun at things that should require wisdom. If I can dismiss a matter with a joke, then I do not have to do anything about it. Do not underestimate this point. Paul says, “God will not be mocked. Whatever a man sows he will reap.” Sitting in the seat of the scoffer is not wise. Prov.3:34 says God will scoff at the scoffers. If we want God to take us seriously, then we must take Him seriously, and His people. We scoff at things we do not understand. We do not understand because we do not love to understand. We are content with our ignorance which is perceived as superiority.

Parents, if you want to raise a fool, then scoff at life. Sneer at politicians, preachers, neighbors, teachers, police, bosses, and those you do not like. Teach your children to make a joke about things they do not understand. Or you can teach your children to seek to understand others and to articulate the reasons why they may disagree with them. In this way they will learn to love wisdom and to hate scoffing. THERE ARE ENOUGH FOOLS IN THE WORLD.