Kids
do stuff. They discover. They play. They have chores to do.
I've
been watching some kids grow up over the years. Some of them have
been left to their own devices to find things to do. Some are given
toys and things to do (sports, enriching experiences, etc.). Some do
the stuff of life (much of which is called "chores") along
with the rest of the family. (For the sake of this conversation, I’m
assuming the kids are given the food & shelter they need.)
Most
get a mix of experiences growing up, but generally have more of one
kind of thing to do than others. Farm kids do more chores. City kids
maybe not as much.
Some
kids get tons of toys. Some kids "go play outside" –
sometimes in the woods & fields, sometimes in the streets and
alleys (and the influences of the others playing outside can be
pretty significant).
On the other hand, the kids who play inside with safe age-appropriate toys are generally cleaner and tidier than the kids who play outside in the dirt and stuff. That's probably part of the thinking here.
I've observed that the kids who also
do chores, and who are involved in the things the rest of the family
does, these kids seem to mature more quickly than kids who are
entertained more, with toys, with video games, with "age-appropriate
activities."
It's not an absolute, of course:
growing up is a complex thing, and a thousand factors and hundreds of
people come play into it. And I’ll bet you a shiny new nickel that
I’m not by any means the first person to notice such trends.
But
I’ve noticed that kids that are given responsibilities early on,
who are invited and expected to be part of all the things that the
family does (which include the work of being a family) seem to mature
more quickly, both physically and psychologically.
And
as I was reflecting on (my over-simplification of) this trend, it was
as if Father whispered, “Now consider that over here….” and he
drew my attention to the church and how we treat new believers.
Pretty
commonly, we put new believers into New Believers’ classes. I think
of those as “age-appropriate activities.” It really is good
information. Good things to learn.
And
of course, some new believers are left to fend for themselves, kind
of the equivalent of “Go play outside” in the spirit. They learn
who Father is to them and how to do stuff with Him maybe a little
more naturally, maybe a little more urgently.
But things are probably messier, substantially less tidy.
But
applying my observations about kids growing up to spiritual children
growing up, I’d expect that the new believers who, having been
provided with the nutrition and shelter they need, are involved in
the activities and responsibilities of a mature family of faith
(including bearing burdens, healing the sick, teaching others), the
more quickly they’ll mature.
