Focus thing

             It’s so easy to call me phobic. The gay lifestyle is not my bag. I don’t hate those people. People are who they want to be. If you’re gay who am I to argue? It does not mean I have to support your choice in life. I equally don’t hate or reject anyone. This week in Alberta Canada, the government has passed a law that protects the gay life style in schools. My problem with this whole thing is not the gay thing but the focus thing.

            There was an article about coddling your children in Psychology today. It said the time has come for Helicopter parents to let their kids fail now and then. I love the term helicopter. It’s the thought that if we shield our kids from the negative they will grow up well-adjusted and happy. In my generation that is just ridicules. Tough times and trials make a person far more than positive reinforcement. I know that sounds weird but that’s how life really works.

            This article went on to say that the kids are growing up believing too much in themselves, it’s affecting them in a negative way. They expect to be served; to be given what they desire; and they don’t know how to handle bad situations. There are really two thoughts in this world. One is that if we are kind and nice to people things will be ok. The other is that people are (by nature) self-serving in many ways. There is always someone wanting to control the power. They will do it by any means possible. Duh that is life all over this world no matter how much we love and respect people.

            What could God have to say about this focus thing? I seem to be drawn back to Matthew 6 time and time again. There is a section in there where Jesus talks about worrying. In the end he says don’t worry about tomorrow; today has enough trouble of its own. For God it’s all about the focus thing. If we set our eyes on him then the trouble seems to be beatable. I love the Apostle Peter bravely asking to walk on water. As the storm rises he takes his eyes off of Jesus and begins to sink. That is the God relationship with humans in a nut shell. Where is our focus thing?

            In our Alberta schools the focus thing is all wrong. For merely mentioning the gay issue I will be called phobic. The powers at be don’t want me talking about this because, for them, the focus needs to be on rights. Rights of humans are essence is a good thing. We all need to be treated fairly if we can. This comes back to the article in Psychology today. We are training our kids in school to ignore the obvious and focus on ourselves. We should be focusing on school work and not our rights.

            This battle about rights does not need to be played out with our children. As Jesus said “they need to focus on today because the other stuff will be worked out tomorrow. Kids have enough on their plates in school. Try and have children focus on math and gay rights at the same time. Which topic will win in the eyes of a child? I know many gay people that know who they are sexually but are lost in terms of life goals. That goes the same for straight people too; it’s all about the focus thing. In school they focused on themselves and their rights. The real stuff like career training became secondary. The focus thing was all wrong.

            Sure, sure I am phobic in your eyes. I don’t put much stock in the gay rights issue. I don’t put much stock in any issue in school. Children need to focus on homework and preparing themselves for this cruel world. Life will not care if you’re gay. You won’t succeed just because of your lifestyle. What I worry about is our kids focus. The politicians don’t really care about your rights. All they want is your focus to be off them and on secondary issues. To look good seems so much better than doing the hard choices like letting kids endue hardship.

            I was bullied as a kid. For most of my youth I was small. I learned to fight back and believe in myself. I hiked up a mountain in Hawaii I had no business climbing, but at the top I had victory in my heart. The focus on bullying, gay rights, and positive reinforcement in our schools is a terrible idea. It looks fluffy but later on in adult life it will spell doom. How will these children use there entitlements to fight tough life decisions? Phobic me says: let kids work out life in school as they struggle through math and not there sexual preferences.

Faith comes alive