•3:04 PM
by J. Raymond Pecoraro
We live in a time when our young people are under tremendous pressures from their peers & from the world’s multi-billion dollar advertising industry. They have so many conflicting messages from those who are either ignorant and/or don’t have an intact conscience. It matters very little as both will have the same outcome to young people.
It seems that nearly every product advertised is done through some form of sex appeal. The problem is a major one & it isn’t getting better. In fact, it is getting worse with each passing year. And to be an equal opportunity blame sharer, sex is seen on T.V., written into music, & practiced without the benefit of marriage! This practice leads to innocent children being born without much of a chance in life. When children have children the result is generally drastic! I am not even touching the hem of the garment concerning the high abortion rate which, incidentally, continues to climb yearly.
Absentee parents are too busy to properly rear their children for whatever reason. Most parents aren’t even qualified to rear children & these innocent babies become the ward of the state. Many of these pregnant teens don’t have a clue as to the identity of the biological father! This ought to make the hairs on one’s head stand on end! But, remember, many of these youngsters are practicing a “learned” behavior. They see their parents’ lack of self-control therefore the message passed on is that “if its good enough for my parents, it must be good enough for me!”
Our young people must be taught that sex isn’t the only way to “prove their love” to another person.
In Proverbs 1:10, Solomon said, “My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent.”
If anyone forces or pressures you into doing the wrong thing, you can follow Joshua in Joshua 24:15, “And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods of your fathers which were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me & my house, we will serve the Lord.”
This wisdom can be applied to any bad situation!
Remember, doing the right thing is never, ever out of season!
And just because you are told that everyone is doing these things simply means that many people are doing the wrong things.
The blind leading the blind causes their followers to also fall into the gutter.
The prophet Moses stated, “You shall not follow a crowd to do evil; nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after many to pervert justice.” (Exodus 23:2; Matt. 7:13, 14).
And last, but certainly not least, God has a reason for forbidding sex apart from marriage.
If someone claims that another could show their love by engaging in premarital sex, just turn the table on them by telling them if they loved you, they wouldn’t place you in that predicament! (I Cor. 9:27).
God made provisions for a healthy sexual release. He made male & female. (Gen. 1:26, 27). And since He didn’t want man to live alone, He created a help-meet for him. Therefore, He instituted marriage between a male & a female, both consenting, mature adults, eligible to enter into such a serious contract! This was designed to bring about sexual release, create children, and to keep one’s soul unspotted from the world.
He did not ordain the dating scene to be anyone’s sexual playground! (Gen. 2:24; Prov. 5:15-18; I Cor. 7:1-5; Heb. 13:4).
When God’s authority is upheld, one’s soul will not be jeopardized for all eternity!
Here is a list of problems that would be prevented, if we would only listen to Him:
1. Prevention of diseases caused by having sex with multiple partners.
2. Prevention of problems associated with birth control in the woman.
3. Prevention of having to put up their babies for adoption. (Statistics prove this comes back later to haunt mothers who did this).
4. Prevention of violating their conscience, exploitation of another, & other problems associated with this.
5. Prevention of losing control over one’s own body, hence one’s life by allowing another to control you.
6. Prevention from losing your self-respect … once it is gone, it is very difficult to get it back.
7. Prevention to live your life as a teenager. This changes when babies enter the equation.
8. Prevention of having to lie to the one you want to spent the rest of your life with in marriage.
If you are in a situation, please take it to God.
Hell isn’t worth the value of your soul!
God loves you and He didn’t send His beloved Son to earth to die for you, only to have done so in vain!
You are precious & important to Him.
He created you in His very image.
May we all, as parents be the right influence for our children.
Train them up in the “nurture & admonition of the Lord.”
It will definitely pay major dividends down the road.
On the other hand, if parents fail to exercise their God-given responsibilities, they will rue the day!
