1
Timothy 4:1, “Now the Spirit expressly says
that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to
deceitful spirits and teachings of demons” (ESV).
Today, the teenager that has made the choice to live a holy
and righteous life, totally consecrated to the service of the Almighty God, is an
endangered specie!
It is not just the external environment putting pressure on
the teenager to conform to worldly standards but the internal may even be worse
and they include those who have been placed in the position to guide them
through the right path but who, themselves, have compromised the faith.
They include parents, family and friends; community leaders;
church leaders; school teachers and administrators; government policy makers
and administrators, etc.
Despite the many Christian denominations and several Bible
versions available, immoral conduct such as irresponsibility, bad manners,
crime and evil prowl the land. There are churches spewing blasphemy and heresy,
deceiving the congregation and affiliating with all kinds of demonic spirits,
and offering the easy and pleasurable life to their congregation. Many have
fallen, and are still falling for it.
Many churches boast of having a section for teenagers but
how many truly care to provide the environment and teaching that nourish their
spirit, soul and body? Some actually engage the teenagers and encourage them to
participate in the activities of the church but having a running battle between
the ideal taught in the church and the contradiction ‘out there’ can be a lot
to handle by even the strongest teen.
Because the word of God is observed in the ‘breach’, there
is a war of the Scriptures, for instance, in the home: Ephesians 6:1 versus
Ephesians 6:4. I’ve heard Biblical aberrations rationalized in uncanny ways,
such as;
1. Halloween isn’t pagan
2. Homosexuality is about love (NIV-Rom. 1:21-28; 1 Cor.
6:9-10; 1 Tim. 1:9-10)
3. Even Abraham lied and he was God’s friend
4. Tattooing isn’t bad (Lev. 19:28)
5. How we look isn’t important, God looks at the heart
The poor performance of the global economy has brought
about unimaginable suffering and poverty due to consequent job losses, business
collapse, irregular payment of workers’ salaries, low purchasing power, reduced
public spending, poor public infrastructure especially education and
healthcare, etc. This has brought out the ‘beast’ in human beings. Domestic
violence, prostitution, and crime have skyrocketed.
Parents who can no longer provide for their families have
lost their children’s and the community’s respect and their families suffer
because no one is willing to help. In the midst of such difficulties, teenagers
watch others obscenely flaunt their wealth.
Nearly every teenager, trying to overcome low self-esteem,
wants to be a celebrity; to hit the lime lights; to show ‘them’ that I’m
somebody’. Getting serious with school work makes one a ‘book worm’ and a
‘bore’. In any case, show business is attracting millions of money worth of
sponsorships, not scholarship. Where do we go from here?
(To be continued next week)
No comments:
Post a Comment