Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from Him. ~ Psalm 127:3
Poor mental health is a growing problem, including among our children and youth. "More than half of high school students have experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness in 2019, a 40% increase since 2009. In 2019, approximately 1 in 6 youth reported making a suicide plan within the past year. Over 2.5 million youth in the U.S.A. have severe depression and multi-racial youth are at greatest risk" (Centers for Disease Control).
Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. According to the World Health Organization, "Mental health is a state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realize their abilities, learn well and work well, and contribute to their community." Mental health is important at every stage of life from childhood and adolescence through adulthood. Like physical health, mental well-being is often shaped by our life experiences.
The Bible says it this way, "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it" (Proverbs 22:6).
Question: Why are we allowing our children to be trained in unrighteousness?! Righteousness is built on faith and truth. It is unrighteous to teach them a varnished, partial history under the guise of patriotism. "Nationalism is often rooted in a revisionist and censored telling of history and fueled by a hatred and fear of the other" (Adam Russell Taylor, Editor, Sojourners). Christians of America, regardless of our different practices and viewpoints, we are on the same sinking ship unless we begin to humble ourselves and sail in the right direction (James 4:10).
We should follow the example of our God Himself in the Bible which describes both the great and the horrible acts of the children of Israel throughout their history. Truth may make us uncomfortable, but it will also make us free.
At its core, institutional racism has caused an epidemic of mental problems. For generations, our children have had to deal with the effects of racism including distorted images of themselves, of others, and of their relationship with God. We are still seeing the results of these layers of distortion and resistance against it in the statistics cited above. Even in our small, rural community, we have noted an increase in the number of children wrestling with ideas of suicide and deeply damaged self-perceptions.
In response, our church has established a Children's Healing Arts Theatre [C.H.A.T.] which uses expressive healing arts activities and inner healing principles to assist our young people with their life issues and questions regardless of age or grade level. CHAT encourages children to explore and develop gifts through hands-on programming.
The program centers on Bible teachings. Sessions include worship, followed by a Bible presentation with group discussion, then using that discussion as basis for creative expressions (visual arts, music, creative writing, drama, and other areas). Using the arts for inner healing in a Christian faith-based program of storytellers with a singular mission: life transformation through Gospel-infused creative expression. Stay tuned for more information about CHAT and its work.
To paraphrase Matthew 15:26, healing is the children's bread.
