Lego lessons

Kids love building with Lego.

Who does not?

I guess even adults look up to these building blocks as very educational.

After Lego made a hit worldwide, other companies came up with their own set of stackable, interlocking colorful plastic pieces that can be assembled and reassembled in a number of infinite possibilities.

In general, building blocks teach children a wide variety of developmental skills, including manipulating objects, creating structures, and working together.

With Lego there are life lessons.

For example, playing with the blocks allows children to learn new skills while perfecting old ones.

They will always remember what worked during their play and keep on using them even as they discover new ways of building the blocks.

While we are being brought deeper into a highly digitized lifestyle, where changes happen constantly and all we can do is upgrade our skills to cope, let’s not allow ourselves to stray away from the values that God values.

A spirit of gentleness. T

his is having a heart attitude of quietness while the world may push us to be proud of our achievement or shout out loud our opinions.

When we keep a gentle spirit, we rarely look into our own interest but trust in God’s goodness in every situation in life.

Speaking the truth from the heart. King David, whose heart is after God’s, tells us in Psalm 15 that the person who enjoys the presence of God and lives a blameless life is the one who “speaks the truth from his heart”.

This means he values honesty (he “keeps his oath even when it hurts,” kindness (he “does his neighbor no wrong”) and justice (he “does not accept a bribe against the innocent”).

Trusting God even when things don’t seem to make sense. When we find it hard to find an answer to our problems, when we are facing a blank wall, when we see only a small piece of hope in our struggles; we must still believe that God is the only one who sees the whole picture; that He will always have our back no matter what.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

Compassion.

This is selflessness, empathy, mercy, tolerance, love and charity.

While social media is a powerful influence in image-building, let’s not get swayed in easy judgement of people and their situations.

There is much fake news going on. Let’s not lose genuine love and continue to encourage those who have lost hope or are lost themselves.

God never commanded us to like people.

His command is to LOVE others even when they’re unlikeables.

Gratitude.

When the world tells us that we need more and must have more, it’s important to remain contented with what we have and be grateful even for the little things that happen in our lives, like being able to wake up each morning!

True happiness doesn’t come from the material possessions that society teaches us we need more and more of.

Patience.

With the fast-paced world, we had to learn the instant operation of gadgets, tools, computers or even methods of doings things.

When we don’t, we fall back from the crowd.

We learn how to think and act quickly and sadly, patience especially among the young ones is becoming a lost virtue.

In playing with Lego, what children would want to build and accomplish may not happen right away.

The blocks may just not fit easily as you want to be. The color combinations may not be to their liking.

They would want to get the blocks to reach a certain height but they can’t make a go of it. Yet, at the end of the play, you will see the kids happily showing off their blocks.

The reward for patience is so much better if we present our heart and efforts to God; when we learn to wait , let go, and believe that everything will “ work together for good to them that love God… “ (Romans 8:28).

Children learn from everything, everywhere, all the time. Today, they may love Lego. As they grow older, they will ignore the blocks to stare at computer and phone screens longer .

Later in life, they’d like to learn how to be successful and popular in a quicker way.

Before we know it, they’d be raising a family based on their own values.

In all these, parenting must keep pace.

Play Lego with them but make sure to build strongly in them the blocks of gentle spirit, truth, trust in God, compassion, gratitude and patience.

These are but a few of the values , old as they are, that we must continue to perfect even as we see our children learning new ways around them.

What good will it be for our children to be so technology- savvy but they lose the virtues and values that will make them good persons in society?