Children of the Devil

The Bible clearly says that we are all born as children of the devil.  The Bible also goes on to call Satan the "father of all lies".  Jesus tells us that when we lie, we are actually speaking our native tongue...meaning that no one has to teach us how to lie...it just comes naturally.

So this article today in the Wall Street Journal pretty much confirms what we already know from the Bible.

Lying is, in truth, a milestone of normal child development and starts as early as age 2. More than one-third of 3-year-olds will lie to keep from getting in trouble, based on research led by Victoria Talwar, an associate professor of developmental psychology at McGill University in Montreal. By ages 4 to 7, more than half of children will lie to avoid punishment, as Ms. Ballagh believes Kaden did, or to gain attention or approval; the same pattern appears in studies in Britain, West Africa and China.

Adults set a confusing example by lying once a day, on average, based on a 1996 study led by researchers at the University of Virginia. Daily diaries of 147 participants' interactions with others showed that about 1 in 4 of the instances were white lies. Most of the others were attempts by study participants to appear kinder or smarter to others, or to avoid embarrassment.

More than half of parents have been troubled by a child who lies regularly, usually between the ages of 2 and 7, according to a recent poll of 125 parents by the parenting website BabyCenter.com. Harsh punishments don't work very well, research shows. Instead, psychologists say parents should get professional help if a child's lying becomes a habit or disrupts normal activities, such as friendships or school. Lying can be one sign of a what mental-health professionals call conduct disorder if children also have other problems, such as aggression, truancy from school or drug abuse, the American Academy of Pediatrics says.

Here;  http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303592404577363833634477636.html?mod=e2tw

So all of us come out of our mother's womb as little devils.  We are naturally selfish, we know how to lie, we will bite, kick and steal to get our own way.  We actually have to TEACH little kids to share...otherwise they will rip away a toy from another playmate and if you gave that kid a dagger at two years old he would plunge the knife right into his playmate's back.

And yet we all insist that all the children running around are precious little innocent souls.  Of course they aren't held accountable by Jesus until they arrive at the point where they can understand good and evil and right from wrong.

Thank you Jesus for being our savior...and saving us from ourselves.