If I may; young parents, this article is for you. I appreciate the daunting task you have to rear little ones. Been there; done that. No doubt, you love your children and from observed trends of Millennial parenting, expend great effort and expense to provide for your children’s development through educational, recreational, and social activities. Strategically, I urge you to consider the essential life skills and tools you give them to survive in an increasingly aggressive and complex world. The Good Old Days are gone. (See sobering examples below.) Hence…
Where do you derive the moral framework you imbue in your children? Ponder how you are equipping them to make decisions about lifestyle, values, and simply, the kind of person they are going to be. Determined to be decent or delinquent? They alone will make the choice whether to cheat on a test, shoplift a candy bar, or bully a classmate. Alcohol and illicit drugs will be offered before they reach adulthood. Sex indeed beckons: what framework have you given them to manage flaming hormones fueled by peer pressure? They will decide whether to speak truth or lies…to their employer, spouse, and to you.
You are the primary source of their moral encoding. (Assuming you expend the effort.) Where do you get it? Likely, you access three sources. Most common is simply yourself. Just go with your heart. Thus the appropriate question: where did you get your morals? Is your subjective perspective reliable?
Second source is the society around us, primarily expounded through the media. You wager a high risk gamble trusting Hollywood, the Internet, and Facebook as a credible source for moral guidance and instruction. Snoop Dog and Snookie, Madonna and Miley, seem slightly spurious.
Third is God’s Word. It stands the test of time. The Bible shows raw humanity. Some got it right, others blew it big time. Divine standards and lifestyle espoused in Scripture work in the real world. If you do not expose your kids to faith, then by default, you have consigned them to the daunting task of making it through life, on their own. Good luck with that; ‘cause luck is all they’ll have.
Thus, it would seem the choice belongs to you. You can consult what’s inside you, around you, or above you. Sincere, social, or Sovereign. The choice is yours. The consequences —are theirs.
- Every day in our nation, an average of 5240 young people grades 7-12 attempt suicide. (www.Jasonfoundation.org)
- Over 90% of those with an addiction began smoking, drinking, and using illicit drugs before age 18. (www.addictioncenter.com)
- Every nine seconds, another woman in the United States is abused. (Partnership Against Domestic Violence)
- Before the internet, the average age children were first exposed to pornography was age 11, now some researchers lower that to age 8. (Focus on the Family)
- “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6)