Knock-out punch!
Mathew 5:39”Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.”
For the latest hindi movie ‘Brothers’, international team of mixed martial arts fighters and stunt experts were brought to India to train the actors on the nuances of fighting; success of a movie is directly proportionate to the degree of heinous, ferocious violence and sex in the movies! More blood, more thrill! I have been meditating about this subject of ‘anger’ for the last two days and it’s now that, bam, I read in today’s news in Hyderabad that in a scuffle between two students in the school campus, one boy was killed, though the teachers tried to intervene, it was too late because the boy had succumbed to internal injuries because he was hit hard on his head. Caveat! We got to agree on the glaring lacunae of a disaster and crisis management! We wait for murder and death in the school campus before we wake up for action! Arise! Save the children!
Should I not mention here about the nonchalant attitude of the parents towards the activities of the children? After all, what the children hear and see at home is being spilled over at the school campus! Dear parents! Don’t shift the full responsibility on the teachers, you have a role to play too! Are you listening? Unchecked, unrestrained misbehaviour of children by parents are reason for such calamitous consequences! Caveat parents!
One particular grandmother bragged about her 3 year old grandson to me like this:” he gets so angry that he pulls out at least one handful of my hair everyday”, I was aghast because her son was a habitual wife beater, now you can see how the evil is operating in the family. As long as they don’t bother them, kids are allowed to handle and tackle anything, right from computer, laptop, iPhone, iPads, mobiles – they astutely know to operate every electronic gadget. Parents, as you bask in this kind of joy, you never know what they are learning, grasping along the way in this murky, shady journey! Careful! Be it computer games, internet browsing, movies – whatever, you need to supervise because there’s a lot of crap and gut-wrenching stuff floating out there! Are you listening? Even reading materials is very important, one wrong article can misguide them into a dangerous zone! Social network sites like Facebook, Whatsup and many other sites can consume enormous time of the children that should be utilized for studies. Have you ever wondered the hazardous things that they might stumble upon while browsing the internet? This article is not just for kids, even adults got to be cautious against such vices that has the tendency of zapping away the time! Before you realize, you would have browed the net for around two hours! Imagine.
Here, I must say ‘good teachers’ play a major role in the life of children, the onus is on the school to offer good counselling for the children and the teachers too. We got to have ‘counsul room’ instead of ‘anger room!’ I believe there is place called ‘Anger room’ in Dallas, USA, where everything from TVs to big stuff are smashed and they pay up to $75 for smashing and walk away smiling. They call it venting out pent-up emotions! Isn’t this crazy? This is what the world would teach you to do, but Jesus taught His disciples to offer the other cheek if slapped on one cheek! Isn’t this a phenomenal teaching? How many of us live this out, though? We hear grunts like: ’don’t mess with me or you will see the bad side of me, you will not live to see tomorrow, you kick me I will knock your brains out’ and so on. It would not be an exaggeration, if I say media is heavily responsible for the spread of violence like wild fire today! What the children see, read and hear is important! Watch out!
We need patience, longsuffering staying-power, a good sense of humor, tons of grace and forgiveness, ability to like the unlikable, the Holy Spirit’s guidance --- and the Agape love of Jesus. You are taught these kind of things, only in the church, putting your children in a good Sunday School is more important than International Schools, that keep the Bible away! Are you listening?
Children from various background join our school, hence I have the experience of dealing with kids of various temperaments. With street fighting ingrained deeply in their blood, kids from slum areas tend to definitely be aggressive and belligerent. Counselling and close monitoring even during break time, is of utmost importance to prevent any untoward incidences. Flexing muscles seem to be macho among children today! We hear grunts like: ’don’t mess with me or you will see the bad side of me, you will not live to see tomorrow, you kick me I will knock your brains out’ and so on. It would not be an exaggeration, if I say media is heavily responsible for the spread of violence like wild fire today! What the children see, read and hear is important! Watch out!
