Reformed Reflections

Pour out your hearts like water in the presence of the Lord. Lift up your hands to him for the lives of your children, who faint from hunger at the head of every street" (Lamentations 2:19).

The Bible and children

Children are precious in the sight of God. They are His image bearers with their own intrinsic value (Genesis 1:27; Psalm 8), whom He entrusted to the care of parents. They are a rich and treasured blessing, "a heritage from the Lord" (Psalm 127:3,5). The family with children has always been the key unit of society. God the Father placed His only Son in a family, requiring that He would be nurtured and looked after. High priority is placed on the welfare and education of the child. Parents are told to teach the commandments diligently to their children (Deuteronomy 6:7). And children are exhorted to "honour their father and their mother" (Exodus 20:12) Our Lord reinforced the Old Testament attitude toward children when He invited them to come to Him. "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these"(Luke 18:16).

The Bible clearly shows that God's anger is aroused when children are neither looked after properly nor protected (Exodus 22:22-24; Deuteronomy 24:17, 27:19). Our Lord spoke of terrible consequences for anyone harming a child: "it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea" (Matthew 18:6). But our modern world no longer pays attention to this stern warning of our Lord. We live in a world which shows little respect for the dignity of human life: a world which has become a dangerous and even a deadly environment for children.

Children at risk

How serious is the situation for the world's children? As I researched this article, I became shocked by what I found. And in this article I can only touch upon a few of my findings. One third of the world's population, 1.8 billion people, is under the age of fifteen. Eighty-five per cent of these children, or 1.5 billion, live in the Two-Thirds World. In Africa more than 45 percent of the population is under the age of fifteen. Africa's high population growth rate increases the number of young people, while at the same time their parents are dying from AIDS. Many children in underdeveloped nations are physically and educationally deprived. And 78 per cent of the world's young people are growing up in non-Christian settings. The growth rate of Muslim and non-religious populations has outpaced the growth rate of the world population as a whole.

The expanding non-religious factor is mainly a Western phenomenon. A recent census showed that of the 1,000 people leaving churches in England every week, 700 were under the age of the twenty-one. The blame is put mainly on the shoulders of the parents. A Church of England study concluded that "the nominal Christians of yesterday beget the non-Christians of today." The prophet Jeremiah's call for fervent intercession on behalf of children has not lost its relevance.

The children of the world are in an increasingly vulnerable position. They are growing up in an ugly and hostile world. We can no longer stand by and watch them suffer and die. They need our understanding, compassion, and help. It is estimated that 190 million children under five are chronically malnourished in the world today. News reports on television show shocking pictures of starving children. UNICEF reports that 35,000 children die every day as a result of curable diseases caused by simple nutritional deficiencies. They come from families caught in a seemingly neverending poverty cycle. The current economic crisis is contributing toward their misery. Only a good year ago, Indonesia was doing well with its children's development programs. After the downfall of Suharto, accompanied by a currency crisis, political unrest, and an economic downturn, children under the age of two are suffering from malnourishment. Many children can no longer afford to attend school and work for a pittance. In Thailand as many as five million Thai children between five and fourteen are working and not in school.

Many countries are torn by conflict, revolution, and ethnic strife, plunging them into appalling poverty. Children become displaced, orphaned, maimed, or die. Scarce resources are used for military spending. The most appalling modern phenomenon is the recruitment of children in armies to fight battles they don't understand. In Uganda, rebels have made a habit of abducting children and, through terror and coercion, turning them into AK-47-toting, machete-wielding killers.

A growing problem is the horrible plight of street children. They are unwanted by their parents or family. Some believe that 100 million children - 18 per cent of all children under fifteen - live or work on city streets. Latin America has the greatest number of street children; Brazil alone has as many as seven million. These children are extremely vulnerable to all kinds of abuse. To protect themselves, they form gangs. Once in a gang, they find it hard to leave. Many become drug addicts. Glue-sniffing is popular, as it gives a sense of euphoria and stops them from feeling hungry.

Many people do not welcome children. One evidence is the shockingly high rate of abortions, especially in the socalled developed world. Worldwide, abortion kills 40,000,000 children each year with parental consent. This indicates that 29 per cent of all children are never born. This means that for every seven children you know, nearly three are missing. Bryant L. Myers, associated with World Vision International, comments:

It is ironic that comparable rates for deaths of children under the age of five are considered unacceptably high and evidence of Third World underdevelopment. Apparently countries are "developed" if children are killed before they are born, but "underdeveloped" if they die during the first five years of their life.

A Canadian solution

In Canada we also have our poor children. What can be done for them? Politicians and social activists frequently meet and discuss at length the problem of child poverty. The focus is entirely on the economically poor, designated as such by socialist doctrine. They are the only ones who count. Children's advocates give the impression that government funding will solve all the poverty problems for the nation's children. In 1989, the Canadian government committed itself to work for the elimination of child poverty by the year 2000. This is the same government that refuses to protect the unborn. In August 1998 provincial premiers met in Saskatchewan. Their discussion included a vision statement on a national strategy for children's health and well-being, which began with the lofty and idealistic statement:

Canada aspires to be a country where all children thrive in an atmosphere of happiness, love and understanding, valued as individuals in childhood and with opportunity to reach their full potential as adults.

Should the government provide a whole range of programs for children and youth? Ottawa cannot even properly handle what it has on its plate now. And whose responsibility is it to look after children? The government, or families? Fully tax-funded daycare programs are among the miscellaneous collection of social measures which are supposed to meet the needs of children and their parents. The Task Force on Child Care reported that a fully publicly funded system of child care in 2001 would cost a total of $11.3 billion to deliver.

But the task force and the government overlook the fact that there is no consensus on child care and parenting. It is grossly unfair and wrong to use taxpayers' money to build costly systems to deliver services which many parents might want to perform themselves. It also insults and financially penalizes parents who want to stay at home with their children. Why should they have to contribute to a national child care program? The Reformed theologian Francis Schaeffer warned that Christians should avoid giving more power to the "monolithic power of a bloated state" and instead emphasize the "compassionate use of accumulated wealth." The best way for the government to help children is the promotion of strong family life. The state's primary task is the protection and preservation of the family as the foundation of social order.

Poverty amidst plenty

Who are the poor children? When we are dealing with starvation and exploitation, the case is clear. But is it enough to give them something to eat, and to protest against unjust actions of governments or exploiters? Poverty is complex. A person economically rich but ill or mourning is also poor, as is a victim of parental neglect or social contempt or lack of love. In North America few are physically starving. However, many are suffocating in the stench of a completely secular and consumer driven society.

What marks our generation? Poverty of character! Our society is doing a poor job of teaching youth loyalty, duty, commitment and faithfulness. Never have so many paid so much attention to the education of children, while never before in history have there been so many complaints and concerns about young people's behaviour. A Dutch author observed: "Children grow up with too little authority, too few rules, too much freedom and too much attention."

But the role of parents has also become more difficult today. Children have become very much aware of their "rights." Metro Toronto Police Sgt. Marilyn Cann mentioned a kid who watched movies all night and reported his mother for dragging him out of bed to attend school. He insisted she had no right to lay a hand on him. Allyn, director of the Mediation Centre in Toronto, says that the pendulum has swayed so far left that now parents' rights are being denied.

Our society has lost its Christian consensus. Christians are now an absolute minority. How can a secular society, which thinks that nobody is at home in the universe, nobody to set moral absolutes, pass on moral absolutes? Political correctness forbids people to judge actions or beliefs, because there is no recognition of truths binding on everyone. Our society has become a spiritual wasteland. And no amount of government money can alleviate spiritual and moral poverty.

Until the 1960s, people in North America believed that they were accountable for their behaviour. Rules were taught and society was not blamed for all ills. American columnist Walter Williams wrote about his own childhood experience in the 1950s. He noted that his mom's rules were obeyed. "None of us could remember an instance of a kid using foul language in addressing, or within earshot of, a parent, teacher or any adult."

Our post-1960s society may seem child-friendly, but in reality it is not. Single parenthood, mainly by teenage mothers, has led to increased economic and social vulnerability of children. The breakdown of families through separation, no-fault divorce, decrease of marital obligations and preoccupation with materialism have wounded and destabilized children. Too many parents seem to think that high-tech toys, videos and expensive gadgets can replace time with their children. Children are often seen as curbing personal freedom.

Life has become complex even for little children. With moms and dads working, they have to deal not only with their own parents, but with babysitters, daycare centres, and perhaps once in a while a neighbour. And too many kids stay home alone after school with little or no adult supervision. Educators complain that many parents are reluctant to lay down rules for the family. They are too permissive. They have abandoned the forms of authority in which they were reared. They don't want to appear judgmental.

A best-selling writer of books of loose sex for children told a radio talk-show host, who pretended to be admiring, that she "tries very hard not to be judgmental, not to make my readers feel bad about things they might do, like the characters in my book." This writer revealed a flight from critical judgment.

Time magazine (August 24,1998 ) discussed the cost of the President Bill Clinton scandal. It says that it has touched everyone "the President, his family, the prosecutor, the press." I also suggest that his scandalous behaviour had a detrimental effect on America's youth. What kind of a role model can the President offer? American parents cannot say, "Imitate the man who holds the highest office in our land."

Many teenagers seem overwhelmed by the many choices which daily confront them. The pressure is on for more sensuousness, freedom and self-experience in the here and now. Instant gratification is demanded: "We want everything and we want it now! We want to live our own life. We don't want to have anyone program it for us." Our modern culture has been characterized by an "exaggerated self-centeredness" Time magazine (June 14, 1998) had a feature article entitled "Where'd you learn THAT? American kids are in the midst of their own sexual revolution, one leaving many parents confused and virtually powerless. "This article is about the pervasive sexual activities of sixth, seventh and eighth-graders.

Who is to blame? The media bombard these kids with sexual images. The horrid busyness of nearly everybody's life hinders the building of personal relationships and intimate contact with parents. Youth have lost a sense of security. The mobility of our technological society and the frequent moves due to work conditions contribute to their sense of rootlessness. This has led to an increase in juvenile delinquency and numerous problems of a psychological and religious nature.

Reaching out to youth

How can we reach youth at risk? A favourite government-sponsored solution to alleviate the needs of our world's children is to support the work of UNICEF. But some people, who have worked at the grass roots level for this organization, returned home disappointed. They found its approach is too impersonal and bureaucratic. Canadian aid worker Peter Dalglish, who worked with children in Sudan, minced no words in his critique of UNICEF In his book, The Courage of Children: My Life with the World's Poorest Kids, he claimed that this organization is indifferent to the point of arrogance:

They were deskhugging careerists, women and men overloaded with academic credentials who were motivated by the promise of a comfortable salary and benefits package rather than a desire to make the world a better place.

He reports that many employees live like royalty abroad with cooks, maids and cleaners. Dalglish is convinced that we need to be personally involved with children who are lost to society, whether in Khartoum, Bangkok or Toronto.

And what do we do when confronted with a youth at risk? Do we find out "who is bound to help in this case," or do we get immediately involved as individuals and as churches? Youths at risk present a historic opportunity for churches to meet their spiritual as well as material needs.

Some Christians sponsor a child and send a monthly contribution as a means to help toward the cost of providing a child in Africa, Asia or Latin America with all the nutritional, educational and medical attention he or she will need in the tender years. There are a number of reliable Christian organizations involved in sponsorship programs.

Child sponsorship programs are noble and laudable efforts to aid needy kids. But to put a contribution into a collection box or to send a donation are trifling exercises of Christian self-denial and commitment, compared to handson-personal involvement through contact with needy kids in heart-rending situations. True compassion requires personal involvement and action. Christian-based assistance to the poor can lead to the transformation of lives, which has far greater effect than government aid.

A clear example of what a church can do even in the most trying circumstances is found in an evangelical congregation in Moscow Its members bring and carry out the Gospel message. They are involved with everything from working with troubled teenagers to providing material and spiritual assistance to those most in need. They are visiting the sick, fixing the plumbing and making and serving soup. They have adopted some of the abject families living in Moscow and are endeavouring to bring them comfort and hope. They are trying to repair and restore the broken lives of their fellow citizens as well as teaching them a fundamental sense of right and wrong.

As we look at the needs of children, it's high time to make them an outreach priority. Wolfe Hansen suggested in an article in Evangelical Missions Quarterly and Missiology (Summer 1966) that "the time has come to make the younger generation our prime objective in evangelism. To neglect it," Wolfe says, "would be a strategic blunder. Winning young people must be made a definite goal, and be given priority in our plans." Wolfe's observation is still true, but children are still not our mission priority. The Alliance for Children Everywhere reported that while one third of the world's population are children, only one eighth of the Church's resources is allocated for reaching, nurturing and teaching these children. However, much to their credit, missions have spent considerable time, effort and finances on establishing Christian schools. The renowned church historian Kenneth Scott Latourette observed the importance of Christian schools in India:

Protestantism's approach to India was varied. . . . Some of it was through schools.... They ranged from village schools which to members of the depressed classes were doors of hope to a world of larger opportunity, through secondary schools, to colleges of university grade.

In North America the growing problem of violence and drugs among youth has given a strong impetus to the Christian Day School Movement. More and more evangelical parents are choosing a Christian school for the education of their children.

One exciting development in missions is the growing awareness of the need to reach street children with the gospel. The Oxford, England-based Viva Network, the international association of Christian work amongst children at risk, is an agency which functions as a forum for the exchange of information and resources for reaching out to children, raises awareness about children at risk on behalf of member ministries, and facilitates and equips existing and emerging ministries.

The Church of Central Africa Zambia (CCAP) appointed and trained a minister to work with street children in 1998. According to David Chiboboka, the General Secretary of CCAP, some of these are children of unmarried mothers, while others are neglected and abandoned by their families. Evangelicals have sponsored such programs as Child Evangelism Fellowship and the Bible Club Movement as means to reach children. Action International, a faith mission, is involved in outreach ministries to street children in such nations as the Philippines, Mexico and Brazil. Their missionaries have a visible presence, reach out to youth with the Gospel through Sunday school programs, camp ministries, vocational training centre and medical ministries.

In North America churches must learn a lot more about urban missions, as a large proportion of unreached youth are found in the slums. Many are living on the streets, struggling to survive in the informal city economy with its crime, drugs and prostitution. Their plight resembles a Macedonian call for help. Clearly churches must deliberately include children in their mission vision.

Conclusion

Do we have compassion for kids in need? Are the pictures of destitute children we see on the television news a call to action or are they just another news item? Have we lost our missionary drive? Do we still believe that all who do not know Christ as Saviour are eternally lost unless they turn to Him in repentance and faith? If we do not respond to the lostness of the lost and do not have a compassion for youth at risk, we are disobedient to the Gospel. We must not only feed kids and educate them, but also win them to Jesus.

Christianity Today (November 16, 1998) tells the story of Colleen Redit, a single lady doctor from New Zealand, who has laboured on behalf of abandoned children in Madras, India, where more than a third of the population is homeless. Redit supervises education, nutritional, and vocational programs at the overcrowded Haven of Hope mission, where several hundred young women and teenage girls discover a future. But in the midst of all these vital programs, Redit always makes "the main thing the main thing," helping children to put their trust in Jesus.

Johan D. Tangelder
March, 1999