Envy and Rice Crackers
2013-08-23
A weird morality thought:
Today [2013-08-23]at VBS, we serving kids rice crackers as snacks. The rice crackers came in two variants:, sesame (I think) seed and cheese. We gave them out arbitrarily, so some kids got one kind, some got the other, and a few got a mix. I expected this to cause trouble, but it seems the kids didn't notice. Or maybe they didn't care. Or just didn't complain about it. Or traded them around. Or something.
However, imagine that things had been different: the kids have strong preferences and are not allowed to trade. As we give the crackers out randomly, some kids will get the kind they like and some would not. The ones who don't will also see that some other kids got what they wanted. My question is as follows: Is this a bad thing because it encourages envy (a vice), or a good thing because it gives them an opportunity to develop moral fiber (or whatever its called) by overcoming envy?
Response
This triggered the following exchange:
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Her:
I think it is a good thing... and it is the same thing that God does to us adults. Not that he is random, but that sometimes He doesn't give us what we want - this is a huge challenge for us: do we act like the kids and stop our feet and pout and hate him for it? Or are we developed enough in our maturity and relationship with Him, that it draws us closer to him?
Perhaps He has something greater planned for us, or perhaps He just want's us to have a greater appreciation for the things we hate. Why do we hate them? How come others like them? ...chances are you like what you like only because it is what your parents bought you, and everything else is "just gross" because you were never exposed to it as a child - and you have lost your childlikeness in exploration. I am not saying you have to like everything, but i would say 90% of what you like/hate is "safe and comfortable" vs "new and unknown"
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Me:
"Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it." ~ Jesus (Mark 10:14b-15)
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Her:
That is true. We are supposed teach truth in a way that little children are able to understand... Not be complicated or hidden meanings, but easily understood by all.
When I was talking about our "childishness" I was referring to when Jesus replied to Nicodemus and said “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water _AND_ the Spirit. Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life" (John 3:5-6) He was meaning that when we decide to fully live for God we become God's children AND we will always start out as infants. Infants need milk and to be protected; He said similar things when comparing us to seeds/plants.
As we grow we are not supposed to stay on infant milk / stay in the greenhouse. We are supposed to slowly move on to solid food / to the out doors. When this takes pace we must chew our own food / reach down our roots, and if we choose not to, we spiritually die. If the only time we grow is when we hear a great sermon, or go to church camp, or hear our favorite worship song, we are not really living and if we ever try to produce fruit it will be bad. We are not supposed to only survive on these "boosts," they are there to help us produce fruit faster. We need to grow constantly on our own, allowing the harsh world makes us stronger because learned and are able to discern God's direction and what is good for us to grow, and what makes us spiritually sick.
There are more life-long force-fed Christians in the world today, than ever before. Very few of us who are called by the name, live as Christ asked - no, not asked - commanded us to live by.
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