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A History Lesson

In the beginning, God created the universe. It was good. Adam and Eve sinned. It was not good. God provided for them. Again, people sinned. Because God is good, he saved Noah and his family from a flood sent to wipe out all of people on the earth. People went on sinning. God confused their languages, and they scattered across the earth. Abraham did a few really dumb things. Because God is good, Abraham had a son. People went on sinning. Jacob wrestled God. People sinned. The Israelites ended up as slaves in Egypt. Because God is good, he sent Moses to rescue his people. The people went on sinning; grumbling, and complaining. God was still good, setting up his Tabernacle, his indwelling, among the Israelites.

Then, we get two new guys in the story: Joshua and Caleb. They were part of a group of 12 men sent to scout out the Promise Land over the course of forty days. A dozen men witnessed the goodness of what the Lord had promised them, but they also saw some challenges ahead.

“We went into the land where you sent us. Indeed it is flowing with milk and honey, and here is some of its fruit. However, the people living in the land are strong, and the cities are large and fortified.” - Numbers 13:27b-28

Ten of the twelve men got scared, too afraid to fight. Joshua and Caleb were ready to go take the land, but the ten won out over the two.

For 40 years, the Israelites wandered through the desert because they didn’t trust God. They all died in the desert and would never enter the Promise Land. All of them, except Joshua and Caleb.1

Here’s the thing, for 40 years (actually 39), Joshua and Caleb knew what they are missing out on. They understand the fullness of the promise that has been given to them, but they are restricted from being able to enjoy it. They don’t die in the wilderness, but they still have to wait to enter the Promise Land because of the other Israelites.

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Finally, God makes good on his promise (as he always does). Joshua leads this next generation of Israelites into the Promise Land, prepared for battle. They win the first battle after marching and blowing trumpets, which is about the weirdest way to overtake a city. After that, it wasn’t all smooth sailing. One of the Israelites really messes up when he steals some stuff. And Joshua becomes frustrated. He takes his struggles to God and, as any good father would, “The the LORD said to Joshua, “Stand up!” (Joshua 7:10) It is as if God is telling Josha, “Let’s go! Let’s get after it. I put you here. I’m going to help you fix things. You have a guy in your ranks who isn’t on board with my plan, but we are going to deal with it and move along. Keep your eyes on the prize.”

Things were looking bad, but the problem wasn’t insurmountable; not with God on their side. The Israelites didn’t keep on winning only because of Joshua’s leadership. They kept on winning because unlike the generation before them, they were willing to put themselves out there. They were willing to take a risk because they trusted that there was goodness on the otherside. They were willing to be obedient, even when the challenges seemed too great.

In today’s culture, it often it appears as though Christians are waiting on everyone else to fix the problem of the teen mental health crisis. We want schools and legislation and cultural norms to shift so that we can get back to the good life. From my vantage point, it feels as if we see the problems but we aren’t willing to do anything about it. We aren’t willing to take a risk and put ourselves out there. The battle plan on how to solve the teen mental health crisis is pretty straight forward: the internet isn’t for kids. So, my question, Dear Christians, is are we going to be one of the ten or are we going to be the generation that is willing to go to battle?

I’m No Joshua, but Go With Me Here…

There is so much evidence about the harms of internet access for kids and anyone who says otherwise is being deceitful. Truthfully, I can hardly keep up with all of the research coming out each week on just how bad things are for kids and teens today.

I’d rather be Joshua and Caleb than one of the ten running scared. I’m not so foolish as to think the path forward is going to be easy, but I am willing to do the hard work because I believe our kids are worth it and our God is faithful.

So…

If you, like me, have been looking around at culture and feeling like there is a land flowing with milk and honey and it doesn’t include social media for teenagers, will you Stand up!?

If you believe that there is more to Biblical community than sharing memes and liking Facebook posts, will you Stand up!?

If you have seen that the dangers posed by smartphones for teens and iPads for kids far outweigh any perceived benefits, will you Stand up!?

The current trajectory we are on as a society is unsustainable. The amount of suffering, abuse, and danger that minors are confronting due to internet culture is devilish. We are living through a teen mental health crisis like none ever documented in human history. Do you want to wander around the desert for 40 more years or do you want to be ready to take action when God says go?

I’m ready to go. I’m ready to fight. I believe that there will be challenges, but I also believe that when Jesus said he came to give us life and life to the full2, he meant it. I want our kids to have that too. And not just Christian kids, but all kids. The heavens declare the glory of God. I want our kids to throw their devices in the garbage and look up to see the works of his hands.3 I believe we can normalize touch-screen free4 childhood in less than 18 months. Because of how rapidly AI is being developed, I don’t think we have time to waste.

After scouting out the Promise Land, Joshua and Caleb were two men out of twelve who were ready to go. So, which group do you fit into? The two or the ten?

This fifteen year experiment of giving internet connected devices to fellow image bearers isn’t the way forward. It’s not imparting in them skills or abilities. It is leaving them wounded and broken. We owe our kids more than a mental health crisis.

I don’t presume to know the timing of the Lord, but I do believe he didn’t put me, or you, in this time and place for idleness. So, will you Stand up! with me? I’m taking the next 40 days to commit to praying daily for three things:

1. God will strengthen Christian leaders who are willing to say hard truths, even if 10 out of 12 people don’t like it.

2. God will reveal to us a battle plan for how to save our kids.

3. God will bring us together for the purpose of encouragement & strength.

There’s a stirring in my soul and I know I’m not the only one. Joshuas, Calebs, will you stand with me? Because I’m looking around at precious, sweet children and I don’t want to wait another forty years.

Then Caleb quieted the people in the presence of Moses and said, “Let’s go up now and take possession of the land because we can certainly conquer it! But the men who had gone up with him responded, “We can’t attack the people because they are stronger than we are! So they gave a negative report to the Israelites about the land they had scouted: “The land we passed through to explore is one that devours its inhabitants, and all the people we saw in it are men of great size. We even saw the Nephilim there - the descendents of Anaka come from the Nephilim! To ourselves we seemed like grasshoppers, and we must have seemed the same to them.” ….

Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who scouted out the land, tore their clothes and said to the entire Israelite community: “The land we passed through and explored is an extremely good land. If the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us into this land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and give it to us. Only don’t rebel against the Lord, and don’t be afraid of the people of the land, for we will devour them. Their protection has been removed from them, and the Lord is with us. Don’t be afraid of them!”

While the whole community threatened to stone them, the glory of the LORD appeared to all the Israelites at the tent of meeting.

Numbers 13:30-33, 14:6-10