Help Your Kids Make A Difference

My parents never discussed current events, political or otherwise, with their kids.  They never gave us the incentive to become involved in anything meaningful.  When our mom became a Christian we heard plenty about the Bible.  And we are eternally grateful for that!  But no one in our family ever told us we could make a difference in this world. 

Then one day a woman asked me if I would wear a prisoner of war (POW) bracelet.  Sonny and Cher wore one so naturally I said yes.  I later learned that the bracelets were made by Voices in Vital America (VIVA).  Two young women came up with the bracelet idea hoping to bring attention to the prisoners and missing in Vietnam.  It was more successful than they imagined it would be.

Working on behalf of the POW's and the soldiers missing in action (MIA) was the first time in my life I took up a "good cause."  I'm not tooting my own horn; I'm hoping to make an important point, so bear with me.

Learning that American soldiers were stuck away in prisons in Southeast Asia, with little more to eat than pumpkin soup and virtually no human contact made my blood boil. I desperately wanted to help them so I decided to take up the POW/MIA cause.  I started selling bracelets with imprisoned and missing soldier's names engraved on them.  I asked pretty much everyone I came in contact with (I was a regular pain in the neck) to wear a bracelet and to sign a petition to members of Congress to alert them to the POW's plight. 

The day the first POW's touched down on American soil I sat in front of my TV set, crying tears of joy.  A group of concerned citizens had done it! Our efforts brought forgotten soldiers home! (The name on my bracelet was Captain Michael Brazelton.  He was one of the soldiers who made it out alive.)

Being involved with VIVA gave me a sense of accomplishment.  Admittedly, it felt good to do good.  But that's not the point.  Doing good deeds is God's way.  It shows love for our fellowman.  "Let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth" (1 John 3:18).

If given the chance, all kids want to help people, or animals, or the environment.  There are a whole host of causes children of all ages can involve themselves in.  But in order for Christian children to pick the right cause they must possess a biblical worldview.  Noted author, Israel Wayne, says a worldview is like a set of lenses, "which taint our vision or alter the way we perceive the world around us. Our worldview is formed by our education, our upbringing, the culture we live in, the books we read, the media and movies we absorb, etc.
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