Luke Perrin
We live in a world that is broken. We the people agree. The rest of the world agrees. Just sitting down to listen for a rundown of the top stories on CNN leads to images of extremist violence, racial injustice, xenophobic political rhetoric and utter disrespect for human dignity. This isn’t something new to our planet. What we’re seeing now isn’t a product of our generation, place in time or toxic cultural environment. We’re just being exposed to this brokenness on a larger scale through social media and an increased availability of information. We’re plunged into the negativity of everyday life, and in the center of all of this, comes the children that will one day become leaders in this world.
This summer, I had the privilege to work at a Christian summer camp known as Passport. I spent two months with children, as new groups would come to learn about Christ about every week. Each week the children learned scripture, experienced worship in often nontraditional ways and gained insight into cultures that are very different from their own. Through these young campers, whose ages ranged from 8 to 11, I was able to experience love in a world that is very often sorely lacking it.
There is an innocence that exists in children. We hear constantly about how children display this in their actions and thoughts. Adults can even be described to have a “childlike innocence” in their personality. This is usually taken along the lines that children are unable to purposefully do harm to others, but also as that they perceive their surroundings and individuals in life to be inherently good in nature. However, I don’t believe this to mean that children are unable to experience the perils that exist in life.
Before the summer, I had a preconceived notion that children either aren’t exposed to or don’t understand the evil parts of society. Parents generally try to limit what children see in reality, including my own when I was younger. Whether or not this mindset is realistic and appropriate, this summer has proven to me that children are not only aware of what is going on in the world around them, but that they even have opinions on these events.
The Orlando shooting, Donald Trump and police brutality have interjected themselves into Bible study, dinnertime conversations and even the most casual discussions throughout the day. Elementary school children knew about these things and comfortably asked questions about them.
At first, I was distraught and full of guilt. Children shouldn’t be seeing this kind of negativity in their lives. They’re just children. Those of us who have an opportunity to make the world a better place should be actively striving to make sure that these kids don’t have to be exposed to the negativity. Then it dawned on me that the children are what kept my focus away from the negativity in the world.
It was incredibly difficult to be disconnected from the world when I got a CNN notification that told me about the Pulse massacre in Orlando, the Turkish coup attempt and whatever racist thing that Donald Trump said that day. In those moments, I felt fear for the children for whom I was ministering as I realized that this was the world that they would inherit shortly after me. The children responded with love. They knew of all of the bad things happening, but they loved each other and loved everyone with such abandon that the negativity was shrouded. This love isn’t anything extreme either, but rather simplistic actions that show compassion to others.
While in Texas, I listened to a young African-American boy talk about the attacks on police in Dallas and I realized how close it must have hit home to him. The other children involved in the conversation listened intently and enthusiastically to the often harsh topic that is racism, and they did so with love that exceeded all boundaries. For they are all sharing the bond of being one human race, and, in that moment, it was all that mattered. They showed love in a world that doesn’t have it.
While children are often discredited for their age and lack of wisdom, I believe we can learn more from them than politicians and higher officials about achieving peace and harmony in society. They love unconditionally, just as we should love. The children that I had the privilege to encounter showed love not only with their words, but also with their actions. I was shown love by the positive encouragement that I received while I struggled to teach due to viral bronchitis. One young boy also showed love when he purposefully missed his shot multiple times in Knockout just so a fellow camper could stay in the game a little longer. Love was shown just simply within the positive attitudes and energy brought by the children every single moment of every day. It’s not hard to show this kind of love either, and it’s this kind of love that can eventually cultivate on a much broader scale in society. It’s a sometimes overused and oversimplified notion, but if everyone could simply show compassion and care for just one other individual, the world can be changed. After this summer, I truly believe that love is compassion on a bigger scale.
We should all strive to be like children. To love wildly and to use that as a way to change the world. While we struggle to find solutions to our plethora of problems, I believe that the answer can be found within those far younger than us. It’s in the mind and the heart and the actions of the often overlooked pre-adolescents, as they truly can be a shining light to a society clouded in darkness.