Yet another conspiracy theory

"Dawn Carlson is most likely to..."

I'm supposing, if you asked my eighth grade teachers to fill in that blank for the yearbook, the majority would have used words like "fail," or "end up in jail."

Fortunately, there were no yearbooks for the eighth grade. Eighth grade was hard for me, and I must admit, the teachers had justifiable cause for concern, especially after I led the first-ever walk-out from North Arvada Junior High School, coincidentally occurring on the first observance of Earth Day, April 22, 1970.

Those of significant years and those approaching significant years will remember 1970 as a tumultuous time in our society and walk-outs, sit-ins and protests frequently made the nightly news. Our walk-out was primarily a "what would happen if?" exercise, but I admit, as principal Rillos and vice principal Bethel walked up the hill to where we all sat on the water tank, to ask, "What do you think you're doing up here?" I jumped onto the Earth Day bandwagon and proclaimed, sweeping my hand across the clear blue April sky, containing a mere foretaste of the brown cloud that would eventually materialize over downtown Denver, "That! That filth in the air! That's what we're doing up here."

They were not impressed.

They marched all 19 of us back into the school, where we spent the remainder of the day in an unused classroom, paper and pens in hand, writing essays to explain why we had done what we had done. Those who know me well, along with frequent readers, will not be surprised to learn that I had to ask for more paper.

(I have no idea what I wrote, and it is my earnest hope that those pages went straight into file 13 that day and did not become part of my "permanent record.") Each participant in the ill-fated plan faced suspension of one to five days, largely based on the essays submitted. I pulled the full five. (Which was nothing compared to what I faced when I got home that day.)

I may have acted foolishly, but I'm not stupid. I got the message. That was my last walk-out and my only suspension.

Taking all things into consideration -- an overactive imagination and too much time on my hands, it's a wonder that I wasn't in more trouble than I was while growing up. Mom and Dad did their best to keep me on a short leash, protecting me from myself, thereby eliminating multiple opportunities to sin.

Not to belabor the point, but even their best efforts failed miserably. I was anything but a "goody-two-shoes."

I did the same with my own children. They had specific boundaries and for the most part, the boundaries held. Were they perfect children? Not by half. They, too, in spite of our best efforts, were anything but "goody-two-shoes." It's an inescapable human condition. Unless or until a person develops self-control, we are vulnerable to sin. Even those with very well-developed "muscle beach" muscles of self-control are still vulnerable to sin. Ask anyone. Ask me!

Sometimes, however, a co-conspirator is needed, in order for sin to continue.

People ask me, knowing that I live in small-town America, why I lock my doors. "It keeps an honest man honest," is my reply. Why are believing women directed to dress modestly? Because we do not want to cause any man to sin. By locking my doors and dressing modestly, I resist becoming a co-conspirator with sin.

Parents of adult children, who carefully guided their children through the many dangerous pitfalls of childhood and adolescence are not immune to co-conspirator status once their children are grown. Adult children, especially in this day and age of no-fault divorce and drop in daycare, still need boundaries. And sometimes parents are the only ones who can provide them.

Danny and I warned our children when they flew the nest and were later blessed by the Lord with children of their own, that they and they alone would raise those children. The only way we would step in was if they and their spouse were both dead. Does this mean we wouldn't take our own children and grandchildren in if need be? Certainly not. But they certainly would not be welcome if by welcoming them we became co-conspirators to sin. Too many households now contain multiple generations because one or more members of the family found it far too easy to pursue unrighteousness because family was all to eager to facilitate that sin in the name of "helping out." One household I know of now contains four generations, and another three, including a child born out-of-wedlock from an adulterous relationship, sanctioned not by words, but by deeds. If asked, any of the parents in these situations would be shocked by the accusation that their actions, made with the best of intentions, made in the name of love and compassion, facilitated unrepentant sin on the part of those they sought to support.

Nevertheless, if that safety net hadn't been in place, tried and tested multiple times, perhaps these adult children would have chosen a different course, a course that didn't result in the break up of a family, a course of righteousness, a course of purity, a course of repentance and reconciliation.

"Jesus said to his disciples: "Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come." Luke 17:1 (NIV)