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Welcome to Varied Expressions of Worship

Welcome to Varied Expressions of Worship

This blog will be written from an orthodox Christian point of view. There may be some topic that is out of bounds, but at present I don't know what it will be. Politics is a part of life. Theology and philosophy are disciplines that we all participate in even if we don't think so. The Bible has a lot to say about economics. How about self defense? Is war ethical? Think of all the things that someone tells you we should not touch and let's give it a try. Everything that is a part of life should be an expression of worship.

Keep it courteous and be kind to those less blessed than you, but by all means don't worry about agreeing. We learn more when we get backed into a corner.

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Opus 2014-38: Poor Children

I never minded being called “poor.” 

I assumed my family was poor.  I didn’t look at it as an indictment of our character or a limit to our future.  It simply meant that we didn’t have as much money as some people.  Not so today.

One way to get a hostile reaction from a student is to say “you poor child.”  When I say it I am not referring to financial condition.  I am talking about something in the moment that points out a lack in their life.  It could be an attitude.  It could be a lack of experience.  It could be an ignorant statement.  It is a word of many applications.

Not to the children of today.  They take it very personally when called “poor.”  They have a very limited, concrete vocabulary.  Part of that is their mental maturity.  Young minds tend to be black/white oriented.  Seeing shades of grey develops with experience, information and wisdom.  Some will never move beyond that level.  In eighth grade it is not a crisis.  If they don’t go beyond that it will be a tragedy.

You might say they have a “poor” vocabulary.  Lack of money in itself is nothing to be ashamed of.  Most of us have been there.  Many are there now.  The noun is a statement of fact.  It becomes a problem when it becomes an adjective and modifies your vocabulary, prospects, education, work habits or honesty.  It is too frequent when we talk about bloggers writing skills.

Just be careful who you call poor.

homo unius libri

2 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. That would probably be one of the longer words they might actually know.

      Grace and peace.

      Delete

Comments are welcome. Feel free to agree or disagree but keep it clean, courteous and short. I heard some shorthand on a podcast: TLDR, Too long, didn't read.