Good Kids, Bad Kids
"What is a 'good kid' and what is a 'bad kid'?" This is a question that came up as I sat in a community meeting on Wednesday night.
It has really opened my mind up to a lot of questions.
Are we made in God's image? Aren't we all "sinful by nature"? Who are we to say one person is "good" and one person is "bad" if we are all starting in the same place, made in the image of God, but fallen? I guess we shouldn't, can't made those judgements, but we do it all the time! I know I do it.
In our BEST training we have been learning new language around youth work... We talk about "walking along side and giving support to youth development." All young people, or dare I say: all people, are developing throughout their life with or without the help or guidence or support of any one person, organization or religion. So I pose a question, one that I am grappling with and don't have the answer to: who are the "good" kids? Is it possible that they are the ones that we have just done a good job guiding, supporting? Shouldn't we then take personal responsibility and corporate responsibility to walk along side each other, young and old, to give support in whatever stage of development we are in? Isn't that the picture given to us in the Bible, the Body of Christ, needing each other, the older women and men teaching AND appointing younger women and men to positions of authority in the church? Where are we on this? Are we doing a good job? or are we always stuck in the teaching/imparting and not trusting young people to step into their gifts and callings (with our support and cheering in the background)...
Just some things I'm thinking about.
