Bob Kisiki
If there is one thing you cannot deny, it is that we live in a time when loving has taken on new dimensions, and in a society where certain kinds of love are frowned upon.
If you visit the one-stop centre of all forms of opinions, attitudes and viewpoints, the Internet – you will see what I mean when I say this. You will find people writing entire treatises advising society to only love those who love them. Some urge others to dispose of people who have hurt them. Many live by the dictum of an eye for an eye. Love, as the Bible preaches it, flew out the window of many people’s lives.
That is why this week is important in the family. Families are founded and established on this one principle, to love others as ourselves. That is what brought Christ on earth; leaving His glorious existence in heaven and coming to dwell among the very people who had wronged God through sin; the people He wanted to redeem by paying the price they owed.
See, it is like this. You owe someone a huge… let’s use the term astronomical sum of money. If you fail to pay it, the punishment is death. You try your vest, but it’s so big, you cannot pay it. Then the unexpected happens: Your creditor offers to pay himself the money, so you may go scot-free.
This is the time we must grab and use to teach our children the true love that the Scripture teaches. Selfless love. Sacrificial love. The love that gives, to the level of giving self. The love that does not count the cost.
When many are saying you should only love those who love you, we must teach our children that true love goes against logic by riding against the tide. When others are out to love the loveable, we must show our children how Christ loved and still loves the most unlovable — those who hurt Him; who indeed killed Him.
While many are getting rid of those who have profited them nothing, we should use the Christmas event to teach our children that s/he loves best, who loves in spite of, not because…
But how do we pass on this message? Psychologists teach that children hardly ever learn from what we say, but from observing what we do. We are their biggest lesson in matters of life. You cannot tell them to love others the way we love ourselves, then over the festive days, you go buy lots of stuff for your family, and ignore the destitute in your community.
If anything, you don’t even have to only give to the destitute. Give to that person whose huge family cannot have enough of the things that make Christmas memorable. Give to that person the community loathes because they all suspect her of being behind the strange deaths of neighbours’ children. Be the one to donate to that ardent supporter of the unpopular political party in your community.
The scripture says, “For God so loved the world that He gave…” While it is easy to give without loving, it’s impossible to love without giving. It’s even safe to say love is synonymous with giving.
The writer is a parenting counsellor and teacher.
