Both Rachael and I believe that ALL people have intrinsic value because of what the Bible says. You have innate worth because you were created "in the image of God." What does this mean? Obviously, we are not God! We are in his image. It's like our parents...we reflect certain characteristics that they possess. Some of these characteristics are physical (in the case of biological parents) and some are social. For example, Rachael gets her cute nose from her Dad, but her feisty attitude from her Mom. She reflects her parents in some way. Likewise, we reflect God in certain ways. God is relational, so are we. God loves to create, so do we. God emotes, as do we. But we are also NOT like God. He is perfect, we are not. He is, we are created.
We desire that our children understand that all people are equal in the eyes of God. Even though the world makes foolish, surface, and incorrect judgments, we want to avoid such a mistake. Proverbs 13:7 says, "One pretends to be rich, yet has nothing; another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth." I am guilty of favoring people that looked rich by their car, house, iPhone, etc. I am guilty of overlooking the laborer from Mexico. The rich man could be rich, and the laborer actually poor, but maybe not. I need to see each person as Jesus sees them - without bias or favoritism. Jesus sees the man for the man, not for the stuff that the man has. Jesus sees the heart and soul. I don't want our children just to value "culture(s)" in general, because that approach can remain impersonal. We want them to interact with individuals from all walks of life equally, passionately, deeply, and sincerely.
How do we teach our children to value people?
2 comments:
Jon: Intriguing post. It'll be a challenge for sure. There are so many things (cars, computers, cell phones, clothing) that create social cues in the U.S. and we allow them to shape what what we perceive about people before we've ever interacted with them. I struggle with the same thing. Being conscious dads and walking our talk is one of the best places to start, I guess. Have a great weekend, Donovan.
babe, these are one of the many reasons i love you. :)
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