How Long Do You Think You Can Do This?

How Long Do You Think You Can Do This?

“How long have you been working with kids?” “H ow long do you think you will be able to do this?” “Do you think you will ever retire or do something else? I get questions like this every once in awhile. A few times the questions have come from kids, but usually they will come from an adult who can't imagine working with rowdy kids, or who used to be one of our rowdy kids.

My first experience with kids was in Chicago in 1977 as a volunteer at a neighborhood youth center while I was a student at Moody Bible Institute. I was still a rowdy kid myself. The answers to the other questions are more complicated. Debbie and I want to work with kids as long as we believe God wants us to be in this kind of ministry, or until He has another purpose for us to fulfill. I've decided on a test which I believe will show me when it's time for a change. I've asked Debbie to help watch for such a moment, when I act like I'm too tired or burned out to go on, or have simply lost my mind. Here is the simple test: When the time comes that I see or hear a child do something with my own eyes or ears, and the child tells me that he didn't do it, and I believe him, then it is time to retire from youth work and move on.

Apparently there are a few kids who think I have already lost my mind. They act like I will believe what they say over what I see with my own eyes. Last week I heard a boy call another boy an offensive racial name. (Both boys are black.) When I confronted him for his rudeness, he absolutely denied saying it, even though I saw him and heard him myself. Then, instead of an apology to the other boy, he became angry and aggressive to the point where he had to leave early. It isn't surprising to see this behavior. They see their parents, sports and entertainment “heroes” and politicians set the pattern: deny reality to push their agenda, and then get angry and ridicule those to whom they should be apologizing. I passed my test again, so I'm not ready to retire. The Bible teaches us to walk by faith and not by sight, but this applies to God's promises, not to a kid's lies or a politician's talking points.