More on responsibility

On my way to work this morning, I listened to a rather harrowing interview with George and Debbie Kinsella, parents of Ben Kinsella – the 16-year-old who was brutally stabbed to death, without any provocation, and whose murderers have been sentenced to nineteen years in prison.

Understandably, their answer to the knife-crime that has blighted so much of our society was to increase the punishment – and I, for one, would find it difficult to persuade a non-Christian that that was not the best approach. Indeed, as an interim measure, it may well be the most effective solution to the problem, although those who commit such crimes are not always in a condition that would allow them to rationally consider the potential consequences!

However, I believe that the real answer lies elsewhere. In school I, and others, have noticed a rapid deterioration in the attitude of an increasing number of the children we endeavour to teach. There are children being extracted from class to attend special ‘anger management’ sessions. Some continue to act in an aggressive ‘in-your-face’ manner. Respect is shown only by ‘softies’ and ‘wimps’; and they readily state that they will do whatever they want, even in school.

Of course, in our post-Christian society, this is only to be expected. The old Book of Proverbs (wise sayings), from the Hebrew Scriptures (the Old Testament part of the Christian Bible) states, in a modern translation, advises parents: “Teach your children to choose the right path, and when they are older, they will remain upon it.” (22:6). This, I would maintain, is where the root of the problem lies. For too long, parents have abrogated the responsibility for their children’s upbringing to strangers. However, it is even worse! Writing to the fellowship of believers in the early Roman church, Paul says: “Give everyone what you owe him: … if respect, then respect; if honour, then honour.” (13:7). Respect, however, that used to come so naturally to the vast majority, and that only had to be earned if it had been lost, is a totally foreign concept to many of today’s children. Of course, show perceived disrespect to them, and it’s a different story! That, as far as I can make out, was the problem for Ben Kinsella – someone (not Ben) had ‘dissed’ (shown disrespect to) one of the murderers, and he was determined, with the help of his fellow-thugs, to exact revenge – even if it was from a young lad who had nothing to do with the situation.

It is my contention that the liberal-minded, ‘do-gooders’ of the past thirty years have a great deal for which to answer. Discipline has been thrown out of the window; arrogance and insolence are part of the everyday attitudes of far too many; personal responsibility, and the consequences of unacceptable behaviour, have been discarded. However, there is always a day of reckoning. As Paul wrote to the Galatian believers, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.” (6:7). Those who sow discord, violence, and disruption, have no valid complaint when the harvest-time arrives!