Worldview Wednesday: Nature vs. Nurture

I opened my local library web page and found this book front and center. Before I comment I must disclose that I have not read the book in its entirety. I did find an online copy that I perused but for the purpose of this article I am looking primarily at the tittle. You can see the book online at the following link; http://books.google.com/books?id=FD0R1WP4XOkC&printsec=frontcover&dq=why+good+kids+act+cruel&source=bl&ots=o48BJogyPb&sig=UFULCka-5TjYnSrdpy7Hct8nZPc&hl=en&ei=Uh2AS9HrLseBnQfQg4m-Bw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CA4Q6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=&f=false


Why Good Kids Act Cruel. The title assumes that there are good kids. That is interesting because I don't know any "good" kids, not even my own. Scripture says that ALL have sinned and were born short of the glory of God. We are all sinners because of Adam's sin. (Romans 5:12, 13, 14,15,16,17,18,19). We are all sinners because we are in rebellion to God. (Romans 1: versus 8-31) Scripture also tells us that we are lost because of our ignorance and unbelief in 1 Timothy 1:13. As a parent it would be so much easier if our kids were "good". They are not. They are sinners, born with a sin nature due to Adam, rebellious, ignorant and full of unbelief. Good is not a word I would use to describe any human being who has not been redeemed through the blood of Christ.


When they say "good" kids they are just referring to their behavior. They want well behaved children as defined by the absence of things that they consider morally wrong such as bullying, name calling, and exclusion. This is where the worldviews divide. From their socialistic perspective this can be accomplished simply by limiting the bad behavior and encouraging the good behavior. From a Christian perspective we know that the definition of good is God himself. God does not act good, he IS good. If our children do not first know Christ then there is no good in them, nor can there be any good in them no matter how they behave. These children are not just "acting" cruel as if they are pretending or are really not cruel. The reality is that they are cruel. They are revealing their sin nature.

The book seems to be geared primarily towards middle school children in a school environment. It is interesting that they have a problem with the children behaving in such a manner as it is the natural extension of the worldview that is taught in the schools. According to the school, these children are accidents that evolved out of the muck and mire. They have no purpose and no higher accountability. It is survival of the strong. In this case the strong being those who are able to bully others so that they are in the top of the social stratus. The very environment that they have placed the children in encourages these behaviors. The myth of socialization comes into play here. Socialization is the ongoing act of of acquiring personal identity and learns the norms, values, behaviors, and social skills. Put thirty children together to be socialized and they learn the values, behaviors, and social skills of the other thirty children. Congratulations, you have successfully socialized "good kids who act cruel".

Worldview: What is your Goal?

I recently heard a christian school in our area advertising on the radio. The punch line for their advertisement was that they would help you as the parent to "raise morally and ethically responsible children." By their own admission the difference between their educational facilities and the states educational facilities is that they are committed to moral and ethical behavior.

This is tragic. As Christian parents, it should not be our goal to raise "moral " or "ethical" children. Scripture does not command us to teach the children to do the right thing. Scripture commands us to teach Christ crucified! A moral and ethical person without God is condemned to hell! Without Christ NOTHING that we do is "good". What we should be teaching is what Jesus himself taught; the greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with your whole heart, soul and mind! Secondly we are to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. (Mathew 22:37-39) The only reason we exist, the only reason our children exist is to glorify God! (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14) To do everything for the Glory of God! (1 Corinthians 10:31)

R.C. Sproul defines the three G's of education instead of the 3 R's. We should teach our children to be able to answer these three questions.
1. Who is God?
2. What has God done in the past and what is He doing today?
3. What does require from us?
Wisdom begins with and comes from God! To educate moral people to do what society sees as right and wrong is to do a terrible disservice to the child. Dennis Wilson said, "It is in your hands to do them the greatest kindness or cruelty in all the world: help them to know God and to be saved, and you do more for them than if you helped them to be Lords or Princes; If you neglect their souls, and breed them in ignorance, worldliness, ungodliness, and sin, you betray them to the devil, the enemy of souls even as truly as if you sold them to him; you sell them to be slaves to Satan; you betray them to him that will deceive them and abuse them in this life and torment them in the next." We do not educate our children so that they can be successful people in this world. If that is our only goal we have failed our children miserably! Our goal should be to educate them to know God so that they can make war with this world!

A better motto would; helping your child to know Christ and walk in His way! “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:14-15).