In Prayer Ministry Generational Transfer Explains How We ended Up With the Set of Life Skills We Have
One day in Azua, Dominican Republic, I was waiting in line to pay my phone bill. Those of us in line had been waiting awhile when this guy comes in and walks right up to the front of the line, cutting in like he was an insider or something. A person in line commented, “falta de educación” (lack of education). At first I thought, “Oh, he didn’t learn to read;” there was a sign that said, “line starts here.” But in the DR I heard this phrase repeated often in situations where people lacked courtesy or consideration, and I realized it spoke to something beyond the scope of formal education. It had to do with how people were raised. In a country where many people were raised by subsistence farmers up in the mountains with no running water or electricity and very much a survival mentality, it is almost unfair to thrust them into city life.
Maturity
All of us were “raised” in some way, according to the values and level of character development our parents had. There are many ways we can “lack education.” Did our parents model healthy problem solving and conflict resolution? Were the children’s ideas listened to and opinions valued even when silly or off-base? Were people treated with dignity, even those they disagreed with, or did you hear demeaning words come out about people of other religions, races, or politics? Was healthy money management modeled? Did mom or dad have to tiptoe around or avoid cer
tain topics at times?
So once we get saved and become a Christian we never struggle with any of this “lack of education” again, right? No. We just call on God in prayer and He fixes how we were raised, right? Wrong again. When we can recognize issues of control, or shame, or helplessness, or judgment in our family system, we can begin to do something about it. God wants a mature bride that can show the earth the love they’ve always longed for. Sometimes He just has to take the time to “educate” us.
Love this article. First of all… I like how you’ve used the fact that the man in your initial example was taught that life is about survival. All of the examples you’ve given about how we could have had poor models for living are great, but then there are just those who are living, constantly, in a place of survival. How often do we judge people for making what seem like “inconsiderate” errors, when they may be in a place of just solely surviving? Maybe it’s unfair to hold them to the expectations of “city life”? Second… this partially answers something I’ve been contemplating. Not to oversimplify things, but it seems there may be, at the least, two parts to healing… the “touch” and then the “education” on how to do things differently. The touch may happen instantly, but while I’m still “uneducated”, I may still experience the pain, conflict, etc because I’m still doing things in a way that causes difficulty. Patience and faith, while waiting for the touch (healing) to fully manifest in my life, are easier to hang on to if I understand that I am STILL in the process of being educated 🙂