Letters From Grandpa #515

• LETTERS FROM GRANDPA
• 515

Dearest grandchild,

Today’s letter will begin with robots. The first electronic autonomous robots with complex behavior were created in 1948 by William Grey Walter of the Burden Neurological Institute in Bristol, England. The science of robots has advanced to the place that industrial robots can now do many jobs more cheaply and with greater accuracy than humans. They can also perform jobs that are too dirty, dangerous, and boring for humans. ONE PROBLEM WITH ROBOTS, HOWEVER, IS THAT THEY ARE INCAPABLE OF LOVE!

So God did not create Adam like a robot. God created Adam and Eve in his own image! God did not program them like robots so they would only do what was good. He created them with the ability to make decisions on their own. God knew that their free will would lead them to sin, but this was the price He was willing to pay to make love possible.

While little children also make decisions on their own, they are invariably shaped by their environment. Probably the best-known story of feral children is that of two girls, Amala and Kamala, who were raised by a she-wolf. They were discovered in the jungles of India in 1920 by a preacher named J.A.L. Singh. They walked on all fours, ate raw meat, and drank by licking water with their tongues. They never slept after midnight and prowled and howled at night. Amala, the younger girl, died of an illness in September 1921. After five years in an orphanage Kamala finally learned some words and began eating off of a plate. Her progress, however, was forever stunted by her environment.

Notice that the Scriptures divide the descendants of Adam and Eve into two different genealogies. First the genealogy of Cain (Genesis 4:17-24). Second, the genealogy of Seth. Seth took the place of Abel after Cain killed him (Genesis 4:25–5:24). The seventh generation in the family of Cain produced a man named Lamech who was apparently the most wicked man alive at the time. He was the first man to have two wives and even composed a song bragging about killing a man who injured him (Genesis 4:23-24). The seventh generation in the family of Seth produced a man named Enoch. He was apparently the most righteous man alive at that time. Enoch walked so closely with God that the Lord took him to heaven without having to die (Genesis 5:21-24; Jude 14-16). The family that raises you does make a difference!

The family was established by God and is the oldest institution on earth. God ordained that a man would leave his father and mother, cleave to his wife and become one flesh with her (Genesis 2:21-14). Soon many families became a tribe, and many tribes became a nation. Kevin DeYoung wrote in the Spring 2022 issue of Eikon: “Family life in America has changed dramatically in a relatively short period of time. In 1960, 73% of children lived with two parents in their first marriage. By 2014, less than half (46%) of children were living in this type of family. Conversely, the percentage of children living with a single parent rose from 9% in 1960 to 26% in 2014. An additional 7% of children now live with cohabiting parents. Moreover, the increase in non-traditional family arrangements has coincided with the decoupling of marriage and childbearing. In 1960, just 5% of all births occurred outside of marriage. By 2000, around 40% of all births occurred outside of marriage (a percentage that has held steady over the last twenty years). As of 2014, 29% of births to white women, 53% of births to Hispanic women, and 71% of births to black women were out-of-wedlock. In the span of only 60 years, what were once considered exceptional family circumstances have become the norm.”

Even though children are not robots and make decisions on their own, it is undeniable that they are influenced by their environment. Sadly, children raised by wolves will probably behave like wolves and children raised by godless people will behave like godless people. Wise King Solomon said it like this: “Train a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not turn from it.” (Proverbs 22:6). One reason God has forbidden fornication and adultery is that he wants children to be raised in a family. Godly parents, by both precept and example, will teach their children about God. The following prayer is repeated by the devout Jew two times every day. It is called the “Shema”. This is the Hebrew word for “hear”. “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.” (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)

Timothy’s mother apparently made the mistake of marrying a man who did not worship God (Acts 16:3). His mother Eunice, and his grandmother Lois, however, shared their faith with Timothy from the time he was an infant (2 Timothy 1:5; 3:14-17). It is therefore possible for children raised in imperfect families to still become dynamic Christians, but it will certainly be more difficult for them. Note that God chose godly parents like Joseph and Mary to raise the baby Jesus.

Someone has said that no one goes to heaven alone, and no one goes to hell alone. I believe this is true. Invariably we influence others by the life we live. PLEASE SET A GOOD EXAMPLE FOR THE SADDEST FATE YOU CAN POSSIBLY IMAGINE IS TO GO TO HELL AND THEN FIND OUT HOW MANY OF YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS FOLLOWED YOUR EXAMPLE.

I love you,

Grandpa Boyce