I was just preaching using the parable of the wise and foolish builders. In case you’re not familiar, here’s the Scripture from Matthew 7:24-27:

24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

And then … Uvalde … and graduation shootings and …  And it all got me to thinking about foundations. Now I fully understand that this isn’t really what this scripture is about … well mostly anyway. But I really started wondering what foundations our young people are building upon these days.  

I’m really going to date myself, because I’m going to tell you about my youth. I grew up in that era where more and more women were going out into the workforce. But I had a stay-at-home mom. I grew up in that era when divorce rates were going through the roof and there were more and more one-parent families. Not so much the blended families yet … that was still to come. My parents have been married now for 58 years. When I went to school, I never had to worry about my safety. I didn’t realize that sexual abuse was an issue (even though it was, and was quietly closeted). Yes, there were bullies. I was a chubby smart kid, so there was a fair amount of that. And it WAS painful and hurtful to my self-image. But there was a lot of positive reinforcement too. We went to church regularly. We talked about the Bible. And that didn’t seem unusual. The neighbor lady baked cookies for us and we ate them without question. During the summers, my mom would kick us out of the house and not expect to see us back except for meals. We never really reported in. We played with the other kids in the neighborhood, we swam in the lake, we climbed trees and played cards, and got ice cream from the Morning Glory man.  

I know that even then, not all kids grew up that way. But my whole point is that this sense of safety and security and faith all gave me a solid foundation to build upon. And all of this makes me more and more worried about our kids today. When families are stressed … And schools are not safe place s... And we have stranger danger and “let us know where you are every minute” … And fewer and fewer people are regularly attending church … Honestly, I think that blaming guns and gun control laws is taking the easy way out. Our kids are stressed all the time (as are our adults)!  

We as a country need to be working on building solid foundations again. As a Christian (and a pastor), I would argue that our first foundation should be God as the basis for everything. But we also need foundations of family meals together, of extended family and love and trust, of safe and secure places (schools, churches, etc), of community and next door neighbors. We need summer nights outside watching fireflies and drinking iced tea. Let’s all work together! God bless!

— Reflections appears regularly on the religion page. The column features a variety of local writers, coordinated through the Monroe Area Clergy Group. Kelly Jahn is pastor of the Juda Zion and Oakley Union United Methodist Churches.