Raising Kids in the Age of Foolishness

There are enough fools in the world!

Raising Kids in the Age of Foolishness: Progress and Moderation

Proverbs 9:13 – A woman of foolishness is boisterous, She is naive and knows nothing.

Building on the previous message in this blog, the “woman of foolishness” who calls out is described as “boisterous.”  She is also naïve. There are at least two truths expressed here. First, this woman of foolishness is the counterpart to the woman of wisdom. Both call out to the youth to “turn in” to their houses. This personification of foolishness is described as still naïve. When adults continue to listen to foolishness, they remain in a perpetual state of naivete. They are stuck in a cycle of simple-mindedness. Paul alludes to this in 1 Corinthians 13:11. “When I was a child, I used to speak as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.” The tragedy of a child being stuck in a man’s body is the picture of the age of foolishness. Childish speech, thinking and reasoning in adulthood is unbecoming. The naïve child who never graduates from the school of wisdom, stuck in kindergarten, is a pitiful sight indeed. Paul goes into even more detail in 1 Corinthians 3:1-3. 1 “And I, brothers and sisters, could not speak to you as spiritual people, but only as fleshly, as to infants in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to consume it. But even now you are not yet able, for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like ordinary people?” The corollary between the physically naïve and the spiritually naïve is instructive. Those stuck in naivete are fleshly, unable to understand the deeper truths of life, whose lives are characterized by childish jealousy and strife.

This raises questions about normal childhood progression. Parents must understand what normal growth and development is physically, psychologically, and spiritually. We must have appropriate expectations for our children at every stage. It is sad to see parents making excuses for their teenage son’s third grade behavior. Parents need to learn to say to a fifth grader (10 years old), “We have this expectation of you now. We are giving your more responsibility according to your age.” Otherwise, a child may become stuck in being naïve.

Secondly, the woman of foolishness is described as “boisterous.” The Hebrew word is hamah, sounding like “haw-maw.”  It describes someone who causes a commotion or is loud. She makes a scene. She calls attention to herself. In her loudness she may also be bawdy or brazen. The contrast is a woman who has a gentle and quiet spirit which is of great value to God. (1 Peter 3:4) This does not mean our young women cannot be trained to be confident and assertive, but there is a line that when crossed becomes boisterous which can be associated with risk-taking. If this line is crossed, what other lines might also be crossed? Parents must teach their children, boys and girls, to be discreet, when and how to speak, and how to control their behavior. I can still hear my father say, “Boys you’re getting too rowdy. Tone it down.”