Why Jesus Christ Is the Only Anchor Strong Enough

Anchor For A Nation

Welcome to the month of May, friends! Seems like the year is wearing some moonwalkers and we are poised for the fastness this year is bringing. The month of May has lots of celebrations and observations- it is one of the longest lists of observations. Notably are the National Day of Prayer, Pentecost Sunday and the Rededication of America as part of the 250^th celebration of America’s Declaration of Independence. These are spiritual celebrations that anchor this great nation from destruction (Psalm 33:12, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance”). As usual, the month of May brings with it graduations and celebrating mothers (here in the USA). Blessings mothers and congratulations to all graduates at every level of education. And the month of May is my birthday month! I get to celebrate all month. Happy birthday blessings to all my fellow celebrants. It is a great month!

Concerned Parents of Young Children

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of serving some parents of young children. One of the highlights of our meeting was their concern about their young children’s wellness with the constant, never-ending news around us. From good news, bad news to any news- there is a constant flow of news that young children are consuming at an alarming rate. Especially with young children having their own devices. Some children have multiple devices, which multiplies their content consumption exponentially. The concerns of the parents are grounded and valid. Recent data from the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, constant consumption of news or content is having behavioral health impact with a need for a healthy digital balance.

Human Brains and Minds

From a spiritual perspective, it is evident if they were deeply concerned about their young children’s well-being, many more parents are feeling the same way about their young children. It is a scary time for parents of young children, who must be a master at juggling so many things in addition to been “police parents” for content and news consumption of their young children. Parents must do this for themselves too. Things were much simpler fifteen, twenty, or even twenty-five years ago for parents and their young children, when the digital bubble was not this constant. In today’s world, some children consume up to five hours of content daily aside from their schoolwork (academics). That is an outrageous amount of content consumption that is bound to affect so many things in a human being. Our human brains and minds were not wired for such constancy of consumption.

Why Jesus Christ Is the Only Anchor Strong Enough

Because the Bible clearly outlines this trend as part of the last days, there is only one Person that is strong enough to help us all combat this destructive trend we are seeing in our world today. That Person is Jesus Christ. Sounds easy and simple. Yes and No. “Yes, for believers in Christ who have a personal relationship with Christ and that has become an anchor in their lives that help steady them amid our avalanche of content consumption. These believers in Christ live with a different life focus, purpose and intent.”  “No, for anyone yet to know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord in order to experience the power that comes from abiding in Jesus Christ to combat destructive trends.” An example is how living in Christ gives believers self-control- a fruit of the Holy Spirit and a self-governance system for believers (Galatians 5:22-23).

Some Simple Action Items

Here are some simple action items parents walked away with from our meeting together. (i) Turning off devices for a period or during the day is a skill to teach young children in the times we live in. They are not missing out on anything! They can use that time for other things, such as reading a book, writing in their journal, or just chill without doing anything. (ii) Young children do not “need” social media to be who God created them to be. Having social media is not a “right” for young children. (iii) Find real life activities that will keep young children engaged in realities of life with their families, friends and communities (such as sports, dance, church etc.). It is real-life activities that will help keep young children grounded in what truly matters most. As the saying goes- it’s time we help our young children to go “touch grass.”