Youth
“Grown up people do not know that a child can give exceedingly good advice even in the most difficult case” (Fyodor Dostoyevsky).
Children carry a certain kind of wisdom that differentiates them from the older generations.
It’s not always one that comes from experience or hardships but rather the ability to view the world through a black-and-white filter. They can clearly differentiate between evil and righteousness. And while being a vice in many ways in such a complex world, this ability is a virtue at a certain level.
In their eyes, there is no such thing as in-betweens and lukewarm behavior.
Confusion and a lack of instruction threaten the younger generations. Children weakly mature into teenagers, constantly confused about the world, others, and themselves.
From there, they grow into adults who are broken and worn down much more than they should be, fostering a particular hate toward everyone and everything, and this repeats itself.
I was gifted the opportunity to teach English to a school of children in Kyiv last summer and took the role this year as well. The children’s development center, which is run by a church my parents started and handed over, is called “Kovcheg/Ковчег” which translates to “the Ark.”
The center is set up mainly for the people that live in the immediate surrounding area. During the summer, the school focuses on art and Bible lessons, accompanied by my English classes.
As learning English is a popular choice in Europe, many children are eager to learn and have an already-established level of English knowledge.
It’s interesting to be in a teaching role with the children and to see their love for certain subjects fostered in a creative way. They speak brightly about how much of a dream it is to visit America one day, yet they continuously reiterate their love for their country.
Almost all the children are in families who don’t attend church and most likely aren’t believers, yet they send their children to a school that holds Bible lessons daily.
The world and its generations are plagued by evil in its many forms, and the youth is the first to be targeted. The most vulnerable are the very first to be targeted.
Confusion’s first victim is always the truth; when it is gone, every generation goes along with it.
