We have heard so many times that it's dangerous to raise our kids overseas, or that it's a disservice to them to rob them of America. In some form or fashion, people often say this to us.
Luke 8:14 counters this idea: "And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature."
It is far more dangerous for our kids to live amid the laxity, entertainment, addiction to comfort, apathy, affluency, and gluttony of America than here or anywhere else. These things may rob them of their souls. By contrast, the most dangerous places in the world or merely those that lack America's conveniences all offer our kids the life-giving chance to see what really matters, to live intentionally, as foreigners in the world....
As parents, we need to examine what we really think is dangerous...criticism, weapons, automobiles, cancers.... OR "the cares and riches and pleasures of life"? Do we merely care for their bodies and momentary happiness OR their entire lives, including their souls and their eternal joy? This distinction will radically affect how we parent, where we spend our money, where we live, what we eat, who we meet, what we watch and listen to, the risks we will take, and the sufferings we will embrace with gladness.
