Somewhere locked away in a secret vault lies hundreds of forgotten posts from a blog of days far past...some of them have risen to tell their tale again. This is one such post.
Last night at work there was this monster dust bunny in the corner. I mean, this thing was Bun-zilla! Nobody wanted to touch it so we did the next best thing...
We talked about how big it was.
Unfortunately, we had previously been talking about how soon my wife and I would be having kids and somehow, I'm never quite sure how, those two topics melded into one. Zak, my supervisor, asked me this question verbatim (well verbatim as I can remember it), "What if that was your child?". To which I replied jokingly, "If my child were a pile of dust, I would put it in the trash can".
...and in that moment we both knew, I had to post about it.
I have become the king of stretching analogies. But, as I recounted the story just now, a tiny detail caught my attention.
My own words are ringing in my ear, "If my child were a dust bunny, I would throw it away."
It is absurd, I know, to consider human parents giving birth to anything other than a human child. The mentality itself is the problem.
What if my child was born inferior (at least by our definitions)?
What if one of my precious babies was born with a disease, or a mental condition, or just simply wasn't as bright as other kids?
Would that make them any less valuable?
Now, obviously a dust bunny and and a human being are completely different. A dust bunny is not a living soul, or even a living organism (I think...) But, even the most incapacitated of humans bears the image of our Creator; therein do we find our worth.
So, what has happened to get our culture to the place where we treat our children like piles of dust? Why are our children left unwanted in the corner? Why won't anyone pick them up off the ground? Why are we simply sweeping them into the trash can without a second thought?
When we can casually discard millions of unborn babies every year like they were nothing other than unwanted dust bunnies underneath our comfy sofa, something is wrong.
When there are children who are suffering every day at the hands of insensitive, irresponsible parents, continuing a multi-generational chain of abuse, something is wrong.
When children are used, molested, and even sold to satisfy the selfishness of ogres who dare call themselves men, something is desperately wrong.
Sadly, the prevailing mentality of the day is not even, "If my children were piles of dust, I would throw them away". The prevailing mentality of the day is, "Children are piles of dust, I will throw them away."
What I meant as a sarcastic, likely misplaced remark, is actually the motto of the average American who has children.
It begins with immorality. Children suddenly go from being the blessing of a covenant relationship, to being the consequence of bad choices.
Who wants the consequence of mistakes?
So, we hide sin with more sin and have a "legal abortion".
This, of course, is justified by the fact that the baby in the womb is "just tissue" (it's only a pile of dust). Once the deed is done, we can't escape our conscience, no matter how many people reaffirm our decision. So, we turn to more bad choices to hide the guilt and the vicious cycle continues. That is a portrait of American society; caught in a cycle of mistakes, fueled by our own deception.
My wife and I never had relations with anyone before we were married, including each other, we barely held hands before we were married. Now, we have three amazing children. I'm overjoyed that God has blessed me with children.
What's the difference? My children are a result of God giving a priceless gift to my family, a result of His priceless gift of marriage. When we do things God's way, everything becomes a treasure and a gift instead of a curse and a consequence.
My children are not piles of dust. They are precious gifts from God and I will treat them as such. I will take care of them and protect them, defend them and love them. Because, my child is made in the image of God!
I'm reminded of the story of Abraham in the Bible. He had no children when God told him he would be the father of many. God told him to look up and number the stars and that would be the number of his children.
Stars.
They are all unique, all bright, all magical. Every star has it's own personality, shape and size. Unlike grains of sand or snowflakes, who share some of those same characteristics, stars have a special magnificence. They are glorious in their individuality, each one reflecting its Maker in radiant fashion.
That is a child.
That's God's view of children, of people. We are all special and unique in His eyes. We all have value and worth because He gives us value and worth. He made you glorious and radiant. All He wants is for you to shine for Him.