Not nice for lice! Signs of the times...

This blog post is dedicated to Val in Linlithgow, who sent me an email to comment on a previous post about the changing seasons.

A new season is beginning for us here in Spain; it's the season when the summer holidays end, and all the children and teenagers go back to school. Suddenly our TV channels are flooded with adverts about special shampoos for dealing with headlice. The most noteworthy of these involves a kids' rock band, somewhat aggressively singing, "Goodbye lice! - ¡Adios a los piojos!" to the tune of Auld Lang Syne. If you'd like a little cultural experience, you can check out the video clip by clicking this youtube link. The sheer volume of these different shampoo commercials is a sign that the marketing people are well aware of the time we find ourselves in: they know that the season of "Vuelta al Cole" (going back to school) is a time when children and teens might be more exposed to the danger of picking up lice, and that it's time to be proactive in dealing with this danger.

What about us as parents and church friends? Are we equally aware of the other challenges and dangers that our young people could face at school, college or university? Dangers like wrong friendships, teaching based on unbiblical worldviews, and temptations to get involved in behaviours that could be harmful or destructive - emotionally and spiritually, as well as mentally and physically. Are we as proactive as the shampoo manufacturers when it comes to protecting our children and teens? Are we remembering to cover them with our prayers and support them with our encouragement?

But understanding the times is important for all of us - not just for parents or for the manufacturers of headlice products! In 1 Chronicles 12 vs 32, the Bible commends the men of the tribe of Issachar - precisely because they had "understanding of the times" and "knew what they needed to do" in the season they were living in. They were not naive or distanced from reality; they knew how to pray and they knew how to act in the days they were living in.

What about you and me? Do we live in a little Christian "bubble," or do we have a godly understanding of the times we are living in? Do we know what dangers to watch out for - for ourselves, as well as for our family and friends? Do we understand how to pray and do battle in the areas where our lives and our faith could come under attack?

Do we understand the season that we ourselves are passing through in our relationship with God? Are we aware that there will be desert times as well as mountaintop times in our spiritual journey? That the balmy days of summer might be followed by some stormy autumn days or some icy winter challenges? Are we committed to holding on to the truth that God is "yesterday, today and forever" the same, and that we can trust Him to be faithful and to be close to us in every changing season of life - the hard ones as well as the good ones?

Let's not be caught off guard. Let's be wise, watchful and worshipful in every situation and season we face in this second decade of the 21st century.