Our Children Are Going to a Time and Place That We Will Never See (What Are We Sending?)

When I was a child, we would play a variation of hide-and-seek. There would be a "sentinel" appointed at "base" to "HOLD THE KEEP". They guarded the base so no one could come and seek refuge there, because if you "blocked yourself" on base, you "won" and could not be captured.

Does your child know their responsibility to "HOLD THE KEEP"? Teach your children to stand in DEFENSE of the FUTURE that we will never see.

I had the privilege of hearing an amazing speaker and business partner, Lupe Gamez, speak at a business meeting. Of the many meaningful and motivational things he said, this is what I have not been able to get out of my mind:

"Your children. They're going to a time that you will never see. What message are you sending with them?" — Lupe Gamez

This gripped my heart.

Then, this morning, I was listening to something and this word jumped out and set up camp in my mind. I looked it up in the dictionary…

sentinel: a soldier stationed as a guard to challenge all comers and prevent a surprise attack. — Dictionary.com

I got very emotional as I read the definition of this word.

When I first heard Lupe say, "Your children. They're going to a time that you will never see. What message are you sending with them?" I immediately thought of the way we parent our children, relate to them, discipline them, transfer our morals and values; and (with all I am learning lately) I was thinking "in regards to their self-talk". So my first thought was a personal, self-image kind of "message".

But then this morning I heard that word "sentinel". It was like a bullet that pierced my heart. Tears flowed as I realized how we have failed. We as a people have failed to convey to our children the importance of "standing guard", as a soldier, against that which would come against our freedoms, our beliefs and our futures! And "to prevent a surprise attack" – wow, this reminded me of a quote by Edmund Burke:

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." — Edmund Burke

I feel that we have fallen into, or been lulled into, a complacency. WHERE HAVE ALL THE SENTINELS GONE?! If there aren't any sentinels today… there will be none tomorrow.

I have a challenge for parents. Don't allow media to influence and mold the moral values and virtues of your children! This is a deep subject, and I welcome any and all comments and opinions. Let's band together and vow to "hold the keep".

Hold the keep!

A KEEP (from the Middle English kype) is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. They were usually considered fortified residences, used as a refuge of last resort should the rest of the castle fall to an adversary. There is a vast and interesting history, but suffice to say, the KEEPS of the 10th and 11th centuries were built with a round, square or rectangular design, made with stone, and could take up to a decade to build.

HOLD THE KEEP!

They carried considerable political as well as military importance. The younger generation were taught how to seek refuge there, given explicit instruction, and were very well educated on the culture, beliefs and moral standard of the country/kingdom, were all the leaders and rulers to be killed. They held the future in their hands.

Are you teaching your children to "HOLD THE KEEP" for coming generations?

Read Deuteronomy 11:18–21 in The Message.

Written 30 April 2014.