One of my all time favorite football players was Dick Butkus, all pro linebacker who played on the Chicago Bears. He was big, he was mean, he was nasty! He was everything one might want as a linebacker. In an interview he was asked an interesting question. The guy conducting the interview related to him that there is a common saying among fans when rooting for their defensive heroes, “Knock his head off”. The announcer asked Butkus how he would feel if he actually hit another player so hard that he actually did knock his opponent’s head completely off and it went rolling down the field. Butkus thought about it for quite a long time and then told the announcer, “Well if it was a good clean hit I don’t think I would mind that much”.
I always thought that was one of the funniest interviews that I have ever seen, but alas I must admit I do not have a normal sense of humor. I wonder how many little kids saw it and took it seriously. Although I’m sure Butkus was not entirely serious and I suspect he would have felt some remorse for causing the death of another player, violence is a rather sad commentary on our society and one that is often admired. Violence is a huge business in America. Look at the television ratings and not just for violent sports, but for “action” shows that depict violence. Little kids watch it in cartoons, video games, and television from the time they are old enough to crawl around
Back in the “old” days when I was a kid we used to play cowboys and Indians and we had our toy pistols and little bows and arrows with rubber stoppers on the tips. Today kids have computer simulated games that will enable them to bring death and destruction upon the masses with every conceivable weapon known to man. Life is cheap in these videos and on the many television shows. It’s a small wonder kids follow up their fantasy and go onto a campus and kill twenty or thirty of their classmates beginning with the class bullies, isn’t it?
My wife told me of an incident that occurred at choir practice. A little nine month old child was sitting down on the floor in front of the choir as they practiced singing their songs for the upcoming Christmas pageant. The little boy was intently watching his grandmother (our choir director) as she waved her arms in time with the music to lead the choir. All of a sudden the little boy started waving his arms like his grandmother as if he was leading the choir too.
Little kids imitate what they see in life. This little boy is on the right track, and we can be assured that his mother father and grandparents will raise this little dude up to be a Godly Christian.
If you have small children or grandchildren, make it a priority that they participate in the righteous things in life. Become a part of their life and become a positive influence on them. Know what they do on the Internet, what television shows they watch and video games they play. Take them camping, fishing, hunting, horseback riding, or other avenues of good clean fun. Talk to them and more importantly listen. Take them to Sunday school and church every’ Sunday for sure. As parents / grandparents we owe it to our children and grandchildren to raise them up in a Godly manner. The Bible guarantees if we do so they will not turn from it when they grow old.
Proverbs 22:6
Train a child in the way he should go,
and when he gets old he will not turn from it.
Have a great weekend and go to church this Sunday!