MY
Big brother is watching. The security checkpoint is always swamped at 2:30 in the afternoon, but this time, there seems to be a holdup. The plastic detector has been shrieking like a banshee ever since this one little boy stepped into the scanner's radius. He claims innocence. They always do. Why is he so hesitant to empty his pockets? A sharp nudge from a guard's baton is enough for him to reach his grubby hands into his tiny pockets to pull out the contraband. Tiny. Colorful. Plastic. Lego bricks.
While an article claiming the LEGO Company is secretly 1984's Big Brother would be entertaining, albeit farfetched, this post is a story from my time at my apostolic assignment: Run the Race (https://www.brianmuhafoundation.org/). We teach underprivileged kids about the faith, while playing with them, supporting them, and enforcing discipline when necessary, in the hopes of instilling virtue in them. One such travail occurred this past thursday. The little boys, ages 6-9, really like playing with Lego. Anytime they're released for recess or play time, they run straight for the Lego bricks, dragging me in tow. I don't mind. I remember how much I enjoyed Lego and they're so refreshingly imaginative at that age, even when their stories and role-play reveal some of the difficult struggles they experience in their broken homes. Recently, however, some of us volunteers have noticed them putting Lego figures or builds in their pockets, forgetting, or maybe "forgetting" that they're there, bringing them home, and not bringing them back. Since this was a widespread enough issue, Rachel, the founder and principal of Run the Race, decided we should address this as a whole community during lunch, for both the older and younger kids. The reaction of the younger kids was predictable. Some denied it, but confessed with a little prodding. Rachel made sure to encourage them to share, but affirmed their desire to not lose the little figures when other kids would take them and told them they could put their favorite figures and builds in a safe space in the school, with one of the adults to "guard" them. They're still learning and it's important for us to be gentle and merciful with them. They're going through a lot. None of us expected the reaction of the older kids. Rachel asked the whole group what sort of things they could do to solve this problem. She was clearly hoping they'd suggest virtues. "Focus on sharing. Check your pockets at the end of the day, without being asked." Instead, they jumped straight into the open arms of fascism. First, they suggested that right before our closing prayer, the volunteers would go to each of the younger kids and ask them to empty their pockets. Rachel said, "Well, I really want to trust each and every one of you. I'd hope you'd check your pockets on your own." Another one pipes up and suggests we take a complete and detailed inventory of the (couple thousand) Lego pieces that have been donated to the center, and count every piece at the end of the day to see if any are missing. "Are you volunteering?" Rachel asked. Another one asked whether they make scanners that can detect Lego pieces. We could scan everybody right before they exit. If it beeps, we know that they're taking Lego pieces. You know, like an airport security checkpoint. Or, as Rachel and I noted, like a Tyrannical Dystopian Lego Police State. Big Brother is watching. Although this might seem like an extreme example, the actions of children can tell us a lot about the human instincts and tendencies that subconsciously govern adult behavior. Today's culture is permeated with examples of these kinds of solutions to humanities problems. If man is fallen, let's regulate the devil out of it. Rules are necessary things. Dangerous drugs, for example, should be illegal. But the ultimate solution to our country's drug epidemic is not going to be more fines or more scrutinous policing of drug hotspots. The solution is virtue. The solution to sin is Christ. In Psalm 119:11, the psalmist exclaims, "I have laid up thy word in my heart, that I might not sin against thee." How can one avoid sin? By creating a dwelling for the Word of God, Jesus Christ, in one's heart. Virtue is the process of building Holy Habits that dispose us to the good and away from evil. It is Christ's response to our concupiscence, where by grace and our response to grace, we turn our hearts to Christ and toward goodness. It's more than just external rules, it's an internal reality made by seeking Christ again and again. It's possible for someone to be good simply by following the law, but it is grace flowing from a relationship with Christ that animates the Christian life. In Philippians 4:8-9, 13, Paul says "Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, do; and the God of peace will be with you... I can do all things in Him who strengthens me." I'd be very happy if the kids at Run the Race grow up to be law-abiding citizens. I'd be ecstatic if they can pull themselves out of the economical and moral slums they've inherited. I'd be truly joyful if our witness of the Christian life is imitated by them, and if a relationship with the God of Peace strengthens them, so that they move beyond laws and toward the font of Goodness out of love for Him.
2 Comments
Mom
3/25/2023 05:57:49 pm
You "enjoyed" playing with Lego? Shouldn't that be present tense?
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Chug and Debbie
4/13/2023 08:29:56 am
Great to see you at Easter!
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