Today was full of experiences.

On the way home for lunch today I witnessed a pugnacious interaction between a motorcycle and a taxi. The taxi had nearly hit the motorcycle which was carrying a rider on the back. The motorcycle raced up to the driver’s side of the taxi and the passenger on the back started shouting in French, “Tu joues avec ma vie ?!  Tu joues avec ma VIE ?!”… Are you playing with my life?! Are you playing with my LIFE?! It was then that the rider reached through the window and slapped the driver right smack on the cheek. They raced off as quickly as they raced up. What was the taxi driver to do? Hit the motorcycle and surely knock the two men off? Then there really would have been a confrontation!

The next story is different but ties in thematically. I heard tell today of an expat family whose child recently tragically passed away as a result of contracting a preventable disease. The parents were against vaccines. Who knows if they still are, but what’s undeniable is that they wish they had their son back. Had the child known he was being denied vaccines would he have shouted, “Tu joues avec ma vie ?! Tu joues avec ma VIE ?!”

Parents unavoidably “jouent avec la vie” of their children (pardon my French) as they choose that which they feel is best. With what great responsibility parents have been entrusted concerning little–in stature only–treasures!

Such an understanding makes it all the more inconceivable when we read in the Gospel of Matthew (chapter 14) that Herod and his wife implicated their daughter in the murder of John the Baptist, one of whom Jesus had no small estimation. The girl should have been taught to respect and heed God’s prophet rather than instructed to play with his life as her parents played with hers. Travesty of parenthood.

Sometimes I wonder if we’re playing with our children’s lives by living in Africa. If I’m honest I’d have to say yes. You might say we’re a sort of living experiment, figuring things out as we go and trying to learn as much as we can along the way, all the while praying for wisdom and protection. We are, after all, doing that which we feel is best.