The Enemy’s New Playbook: An Attack on Our Kids & Their Identities

Posted on Aug 04, 2022   Topic : Inspirational/Devotional, Men's Christian Living, Women's Christian Living
Posted by : Hillary Morgan Ferrer

If the enemy wants to thwart humans and God from coming into the right relationship again, he can go after their individual identities. That’s what we saw happen in the garden, that’s what we saw when Satan attacked Christ here on earth, and that’s what we are seeing happening now.

So how is he attacking identity? Let’s go back a step and think about what is required to even have a true identity. At a minimum, you need two things: truth and words. You cannot have a true identity without the concept of truth, and you cannot convey a true identity apart from the use of words. Destroy truth and words, and you can destroy our ability to communicate true identities, which in turn impedes our ability to communicate the gospel.

EMPOWERING WORDS

Denotation—The dictionary definition or primary meaning of a word is its denotation, in contrast to the feelings or ideas that the word suggests.

Connotation—If a word invokes positive or negative feelings in addition to its literal or primary meaning, those are its connotations.

Category error (or mistake)—A category error is a semantic or ontological error by which a property is ascribed to a thing that could not possibly have that property. For example, “The number two is blue.”

EMPOWERING THOUGHTS

One popular postmodern approach to words is to declare that words are meaningless. They’re just made-up, useful fiction, and we can’t really pin them down to any singular meaning. True, there are different words in different languages that may mean the same thing, so in that sense, they are “made up.” But words are very powerful because they refer to real things. Words are how we interact with reality. Words are so important that in John 1:1, Jesus Himself is referred to as the Word.

So, if your kids come to you with this line of argument (as one of our Mama Bear’s children recently did), help them clarify their thoughts—“So, I hear you using words to describe how words are meaningless. Is that right?”—and then use their own “logic” to reinforce how important words are in the real world. You might say, “What I just heard you say was that you are going to come home after school and clean the whole kitchen, do the dishes, and wash the dog. If words are made up, then I’m free to interpret your words any way I want, right? Thanks!”

All this goes to show that when you deviate from a Christian worldview, chaos is not far behind. Properly understood and applied, the biblical worldview is the foundation of an orderly and coherent world. Just for fun, brainstorm what you think would happen to our world if everyone woke up and decided that words were meaningless. What parts of society would crumble or cease to function?

Look at the following categorical statements with your children. Beneath each, write a scenario that would provide actual information that would make the statement true. This might give you an opportunity to correct your children in their categories! Maybe they say, “My teacher always gives me a bad grade.” Does this mean the teacher hates them? Not necessarily, and especially not if we are talking about math! Keep statements like these in mind when your kids are telling you about their day. Regularly help them articulate objective statements rather than categories.

“My teacher hates me!”

“Aidan is such a bully.”

“You’re always so selfish.”

“I can’t trust Allison.”

Please note: If a person or a situation is making your child uncomfortable, he or she might not be able to articulate why. Sometimes, it’s best to listen to our gut. That’s perfectly fine! But this exercise can help children build the muscle of articulating their perceptions and conclusions.

The Straw Man fallacy is a logical error in which someone creates a parody of their opponent’s position, exaggerating it in such a way that no reasonable person could agree with it. This makes it easier to refute.

THE POWER OF POSITIVE REPETITION

Consider an area in which your child is struggling. What is a truthful statement (that is, don’t tell him he’s great at something if he’s not) that you can speak over him to encourage him? Repeat your encouragement every day—even multiple times a day if it feels natural.

Do this for at least a week. Do you see any difference in your child’s attitude regarding their struggle? What does this show us about the importance of positive repetition?

KEY SCRIPTURES

We encourage you to read the following verses in context (read at least the entire chapter), reflect on how they relate to what you’re learning and thank God for the hope and guidance found in His Word.

Deuteronomy 32:4—“The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity just and upright is he.”

Romans 12:21—“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

3 John 11—“Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God.”

Exodus 32:5—“Aaron… built an altar before [the calf]. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, ‘Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord.’ ”

1 John 3:18—“Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”

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