TheGospelMessageToday

Teenagers struggle for identity. Some will work extremely hard, yet be embarrassed by public recognition. Others want to please their parents, but resist too many rules or restrictions. They want to stand out, yet be included; an individual, but not different. It shows in the way young people usually dress. They are so desperate to be non-conformists that they all end up wearing the same things!

Never fear, the culture currently cultivated in our society is racing to the rescue by teaching a system of ‘mandatory acceptance’. If you want to dress in the Goth style, no problem, you are accepted without ridicule. If you wish to live a lifestyle that promotes out of body experiences, gay relationships, living together but not married, recreational drugs, pornography, abortion, justice-love and all sorts of other things….don’t worry, anyone can dine at the table of tolerance without responsibility. You are accepted as long as you do not harm another person. We even have a neat catchphrase that describes ‘mandatory acceptance’, it is called being politically correct.

So, our young people are being taught that it is right to do what you want and think want you want as long as you accept everything as valid. Our society has entered into a time of relative thought where right and wrong is based on personal experience. Morality is defined by each person’s individual situation in life, and absolute truth is thought not to exist. Perhaps though, you recall these words, “everyone did what was right according to his own eyes” (Judges 17.6, 21.25, Prov 16.2, 21.2).

God has shown man that there is such a thing as right and wrong, there is absolute truth. Sadly, if we choose today to voice a dissenting opinion to the world based on scripture, our culture of acceptance hypocritically starts spewing out words such as unenlightened, bigot, hate monger, and racist. None of which describe anyone with a true Christ-centered life.

No wonder our young people are confused (as many adults are), they lack a solid foundation to build on or an anchor for their faith. Their only hope is that Christian parents must bring God into the home and stand on His morality, His truth. As a body of God’s called out people, we must recognize God’s authority over our lives, search His truth, and say ‘thus says the Lord’ without embarrassment.

Let it not be said of us that ‘another generation arose that did not know the Lord’ (Judges 2.10), rather let us respond as the people did to Joshua:

“The Lord our God we will serve, and His voice we will obey”

(Joshua 24.24)