“Teach me Your way, O Lord, and I will walk in Your truth…”  Ps. 86:11a

A student was recently told by the principal and two teachers at his middle school that he was not allowed to wear a t-shirt he had on because it was “offensive”.  What was so “offensive” to these school authorities?  His t-shirt read, “VIRGINITY ROCKS!”

What makes this so disturbing is that not only is it inconceivable that something good should be considered “offensive” in our schools but it is not an isolated situation. This incident is representative of the pervasive anti-truth, anti-moral attitude sweeping through America’s schools and culture today.  As grandparents it is difficult for us to fathom how a message like this student’s t-shirt could be “offensive” to anyone, but it is a very different world than the one of our childhood.

How should we, as grandparents, respond to the morality void that bombards our grandchildren from every direction?  Shall we ignore it or stick our heads in the sand and hope it will go away?  Shall we viciously attack and make a big scene with school officials who pander to such nonsense?  Should we just leave this to the parents, or is there something we can do as grandparents?  While there may be appropriate times for deliberate action, as was done in this case, I believe grandparents can be effective resources and parent partners so this generation will know how to keep a biblical perspective even when doing so leads to persecution.  Incidents like this are powerful opportunities to begin dialogue with our children, grandchildren and others about what is true and how to graciously live as salt and light in today’s world.

GRANDPAUSE: “God never tells us to walk righteously before Him and live unrighteously before others… Who we are before Him and how we are before others are both important to God.” – Roy Lessin