Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Why is he so Angry?

Tonight’s Kids Club was a little rougher than usual … particularly for one little guy.

Let’s called him Bobby. Bobby came in yelling, “That woman cussed me out! That woman cussed me out so I cussed her out!” And again and again, “That woman cussed me out so I’m gonna punch her in the face! That woman cussed me out! I don’t even know that woman!”

As he was yelling, another one of the little girls tried to explain to me, “He’s a bad kid.”

So I went over, knelt down, and held him. “God loves you, Bobby. I’m sorry that the woman wasn’t very nice to you.” I spoke gently to him, and he slowly calmed down. “God loves you so much, Bobby! So much!” As I prayed for him, I felt the peace of the Lord come over him and around us.

His dad walked by as we were talking, and simply told me, “He’s a bad kid.”

I could see the anger well up in Bobby as his own dad spoke the identity over him (for the second time in just a few minutes) that he is a bad kid. Maybe Bobby believes that he’s a bad kid because he’s heard it so many times.

I quickly responded to Bobby’s father, “Oh, no. You’ve got yourself a great son here! He’s a great kid.”

Not much longer, Bobby decided to drop a glass off of the second floor onto the area in front of the gate right where the kids walk into the playground. It shattered, and he ran. After chasing him down, I made him clean it up. (I’m sure I looked really cool, running after a seven year old … don’t you wish you could watch a video of that?)

After getting in trouble for a few other things, I decided to send Bobby back home and told him to come back next week.

So Bobby decided to beat the fence with a stick. I was afraid to walk near him because he was waving the stick around with such anger. He ran away before I could talk with him. It seemed like Bobby was used to getting into trouble.

The problem is not that Bobby is a bad kid. The problem is not his anger. That’s just the fruit of the root issue. Why is Bobby so angry? Why does he act out? He is so wounded, so broken.

Jesus, please heal his wounds!! You’re the only one who can make him whole.

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