MKTPeterson.blog: An open letter to Generation Alpha part III: Rediscover Jesus now and you will be wise.

Here is something every kid like you know, but maybe you don’t realize it yet. You are born to learn. Every human being starts out as a tiny helpless baby inside of their mother’s womb. Even Jesus began his human life as a tiny baby that grew inside of his mother Mary’s womb. Your body spent 9 months developing in your mom’s womb, and when you were ready to come out, you were born. Now, there are some things that you are born knowing how to do like breathing air in and out of your lungs. This type of knowledge is known as an instinct since no one taught you how to fill your lungs with air and then push the air out of your lungs. Your body automatically just knows how to breathe. If it didn’t, you’d be dead.

But, other than knowing how to breathe in and out, knowing how to sleep and what hunger felt like, and maybe knowing how to poop and pee bad stuff out of your body, you as a newborn baby didn’t know anything. Everything else you had to learn or taught how to do by someone else. You maybe knew your mommy’s or daddy’s voice as a baby, but you had to hear them talk with you almost every day before you recognized them as your mom and or dad. Eventually you not only learned who your mom and or dad were, but you learned how to call them mom or dad when you learned how to speak back to your parents after hearing them talk with you. Some of you were even blessed to learn two languages as a baby as your mom and or dad may have come from another country and they spoke the language they knew how to speak to you, but you were raised in the United States and heard everyone else around you speak English and learned both languages. Most kids learn to speak languages by the age of 3 [i] and the older you are, the harder it is to learn a 2^nd language[ii]. Your first language is so engrained in your brain as an adult you’ll have a hard time trying to remember how to say "¿Dónde está el baño?" if you suddenly have a need to pee or poop in a Spanish speaking country because you haven’t worn a diaper since the age of 2.

The reason why learning is so easy for you as a kid is because like your body your brain is growing and changing at the same time. The skills you learn as a kid become ingrained in your brain so you can draw on them for the rest of your life. When you learned your ABC’s as a toddler, you then learned how those combinations of letters of the alphabet are creating the words I write to you in English.

Let’s use a common question you probably have heard as a kid from an adult to show how now is the important time to learn skills you need for the rest of your life when you grow up which is- “What do you want to be when you grow up?” If you want to grow up to become a famous pop star like Beyoncé, then you’ll need to learn how to sing do re me fa so la ti do. You’ll not only need to learn how to properly sing do re me fa so la ti do, but you’ll also need to learn the variety of the musical keys do re me fa so la ti do can be sung in. You’ll need to learn how to recognize those do re me notes on a piece of sheet music and how long you’re supposed to hold each note depending upon the time. Moreover, once you learn how to sing do re me fa so la ti do on pitch for each and every musical scale in your vocal range, you’ll have to practice them day in and day out along with the words to the notes that are substituted for most songs unless you’re singing “Do Re Me” from “The Sound of Music”. You’ll also have to learn like Beyoncé to harmonize your singing with others like she did with Kelly Rolland and Michelle Williams in Destiny’s Child[iii]. You might even have to develop physical exercises to increase your lung capacity to hold those high notes Beyoncé can sing. You might also have to learn how to play a musical instrument like a piano or a guitar so you can hear how those notes sound as you practice them. So, if you want to become a famous pop star like Beyoncé, now is the time to learn those skills that will help to make you famous.

The same holds true for almost any grown-up occupation. You want to be a big-time chef like you see on TikTok, learn how to cook/bake and practice those skills each and every day. I have heard it said it takes 10,000 hours of practice to master any skill [iv] and when you are a kid, you have lots of time to practice until you’ve mastered the skill.

There are also things that to paraphrase Yoda from Star Wars’ “The Empire Strikes Back” you learn as a kid you may have a hard time unlearning as an adult. He was telling this to a fully grown Luke Skywalker who Yoda felt was too old to learn how to be a Jedi since Yoda knew he had to get those padawan Jedi learners when they were still his height so they could master the correct Jedi skills from the beginning. So, Luke Skywalker knew he could use the force to move smaller objects from one place to another. However, as a grown adult Luke had a hard time believing he could move his massive X wing fighter with the power of the force alone. Yoda, on the other hand, knew how powerful the force was and even though he was shorter than Luke Skywalker and certainly a lot smaller than Luke’s X-wing fighter, he could use the force to get it out of the swamp of Dagobah before it sank. This is also a reason why adults may force you to eat lots of bitter vegetables like broccoli or spinach so those vegetables can help you grow strong instead of being hooked on sugary fatty junk food like I am and being weak. Believe me I’m struggling to learn how to hate McDonalds French fries and hamburgers that the Hamburglar and the French fry guys taught me how to love too much that I know is hateful to my physique.

All of the skills and things the rest of the world can be summed up with the word knowledge as in you know how to sing like Beyoncé or bake like a TikTok-er. But wisdom, which may seem like a synonym of knowledge, is something completely different. Wisdom is the ability to use the knowledge you have for the best possible result. For example, maybe you know how to make a cake thanks to an easy bake oven someone in your family gave you. You might even know you don’t have to use the pre-packaged mixes that are sold on Amazon and maybe you know how to mix those cake mixes from scratch. But you are also wise enough to know that if you want to bake a cake that the entire family can enjoy and not just you or one other person, you have to borrow a grownup oven and have to know how to be cautious taking that cake pan out of the hot oven if you are old enough to do so without burning yourself. Otherwise, you have to be wise enough to listen to your parents and people who are older than you to stay away from something that is so hot it can burn your skin like an oven.

And to be honest with you, I think you kids need to know how to be wise because there is a lot of information/knowledge to be had at your fingertips thanks to the internet age, with artificial intelligence to help you, but you have to know which knowledge to use and which knowledge not to use and which images are created by computer robots and which are created by real artist. There are websites stating the earth is flat[v] when the ancient Greek mathematician Erathosthenes[vi] discovered how the earth was round by measuring the shadows cast by a stick in two different cities over 2,200 years ago. There is so much misinformation out there that can sound truthful, but in reality, it’s a lie that people keep trying to convince you is true. Think of a toy that may have seemed really, really cool on a commercial only to not be so cool in person. This is where you may need to turn to a higher wisdom who is the ultimate master of the forces that operate the universe, God and his son Jesus who is the truth, because sometimes God can give you wisdom beyond your years and beyond what a grownup might think you know otherwise.

In fact, one day a young Israelite boy king asked God for wisdom and God granted it, in abundance.

But before I bring up that young Israelites king named Solomon, let me catch you up on more of salvation history.

After 40 years of wandering in the desert the Israelites finally were ready to enter the promised land of Canaan as lead by the successor of Moses, Joshua. Joshua brought the Ark of the Covenant that held the 10+603 commandments God gave to Moses that all of the Israelites had kept for 40 some years to the river Jordan and the waters of the Jordan river parted like the red sea. God then had all of the Israelites march for 7 days around the Canaanite city of Jericho and suddenly the 13 foot walls[vii] of Jericho fell[viii]. Eventually all of Canaan was conquered by the Israelites and the 12 tribes of Israel settled in various parts of Israel[ix] but that didn’t mean the Israelites had it on easy street. Several Canaanite tribes were still around to cause problems for the Israelites like the Philistines who began picking fights with the Israelites. So, from time to time God would tap someone among the Israelites to become a judge.[x] Now, don’t think of an Israelite judge as someone with a black robe and a gavel trying to determine who is guilty or innocent. Think more like a military general or warlord who would lead Israel against their attacking enemies. The most famous of the Israelite judges was Sampson who was an Israelite superhero given super strength thanks to his belief that as long as he kept his hair lusciously long, then he would be all powerful. Sure enough, when he encountered a Philistine woman named Delilah, who gave Sampson a haircut while he was passed out, [xi] suddenly Sampson became a wimp and was able to be captured by his Philistine enemies. While some of the Israelite Judges were good, most of them were bad or horrible. Read the book of Judges to find out what happened but let’s just say after awhile Israel was sick of these bad judges and actually disobeyed God’s laws a lot.

So, God heard how his people was complaining and 1^st sent them a kid prophet named Samuel. Samuel was a kid living with an Israelite priest named Eli who heard God calling him. In fact, Samuel didn’t realize it was God who was calling him but thought it was his master/teacher Eli.[xii] Samuel grew up in the time of the Judges and was recognized as a messenger of God who still had to deal with the Philistines. At one point in battle with the Philistines the Philistines managed to capture the ark of the covenant! (Don’t worry, the Israelites got it back after God sent a plague to the Philistines)[xiii]. The Israelites then realized that maybe to keep themselves protected against all of these Philistines they needed to get themselves a king like the Philistines and other tribes surrounding the Israelites. So, reluctantly Samuel talks to God about this whole king situation and God agrees to give the Israelites a king named Saul. Saul does OK in battle except he begins to disobey God (Read 1^st Samuel for the details) and Samuel regrets putting Saul in charge of Israel. God then tells Samuel[xiv] to go to a little town in Israel named Bethlehem (Yes, the same town as Jesus’ birth) to anoint another king for Israel named David. David was the youngest kid of 8 brothers and had the job of watching the family’s smelly sheep when he got anointed by Samuel as king of Israel even though David wouldn’t become the actual king of Israel until he was fully grown. 1st Samuel goes on to explain how David as a small kid slew the Philistine giant Goliath with a slingshot. Eventually, David became Saul’s chief general, but Saul also became jealous of David success as his general. Saul threatened to kill David, forcing David into hiding until one day Saul is killed in battle (Read 1^st Samuel for more) along with Saul’s son Jonathan. David then became the king who unites all of Israel with the new capital of Jerusalem.

Now king David was humble. He also, per tradition wrote a lot of those psalms in the book of psalms, and was devoted to God to the point where he decides he’s got to build a temple for God’s ark of the covenant. But by no means was King David perfect. The 2^nd book of Samuel goes on to explain how King David broke the 6^th commandment with a woman named Bathsheba who was married to a man named Uriah (and I think David may have had a wife or some wives) and then to cover up his affair with Bathsheba he ordered the death of Uriah in battle. Bathsheba then bore David a son named Solomon who, while still a young kid or possibly a teenager, took over the entire kingdom of Israel from his father King David when David died.

Now I’m sure king David make sure prince Solomon had an education to know all 613 laws of the bible as well as things like math and reading and other things that could give him the ability to be a king even at a young age. The problem is Solomon was suddenly in charge of 12 different tribes with different ideas on how things should be done and Israel was still recovering a civil war started by Solomon’s half-brother Absalom when declared war on their father David because of the disobedience of God’s 5^th & 6^th commandment with his mother. So, let’s just say many in Israel felt that Solomon shouldn’t be king.

So, God knew Solomon was in over his head as king of Israel. The Lord appeared to young Solomon in a dream, and said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.”

Solomon answered, “Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. So, give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?”

God was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. So God said to him, “Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for—both wealth and honor—so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings.” [xv]

And it’s true. Solomon became one of the wisest kings to ever have lived. He also was very wealthy. Furthermore, Solomon also became one of Jesus’ ancestors and also wrote some of his wiser thoughts in the books of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and some Psalms as well. You read some of those books of the Bible you’ll be wise as well as you realize like Solomon how wisdom, in particular the kind of divine wisdom God is willing to give you, is far more valuable than gold or diamonds especially in this information age.