Monday, June 19, 2006

Innocence

A few months ago, I visited the home of a new friend - a Christian widow who homeschools her teenagers. What a stark contrast to my realm here, where I work with kids in the public school system who have been exposed to EVERYTHING - who know what oral sex is by 7th grade and who are experimenting with being "bi" or "gay" in high school.

As my friend and I were talking late at night, I made some reference to sex and she said "Oh, my kids don't even know what that is." She said that when her older daughter was ready to go off to college, she sat her down and told her about sex. At first this struck me as unbelievable, but upon reflection, I realized that the deep peace I so enjoyed at her home derived from the innocence that had been so vigorously protected - little TV watching, lots of reading and Bible study, piano lessons, and chores (including growing their own organic produce).

Her kids are not isolated or socially inept. On the contrary, they are intelligent and thoughtful, engaging, respectful, joyful; they clown around and laugh, free from the corruption that most of "my" kids are bathed in each day at public school.

Why are we so anxious to replace that innocence with worldliness and lust?