[254 words]
Our culture is in a sexual free fall. The average age for first-time sexual intercourse for boys is 15.9 (girls 16.2). The vast majority of students are sexual by the time they are high school seniors. By the way, the percentage of “Christian” kids is no different.
Parents don’t know what to do. They know how poorly prohibition worked in their generation, yet they also know that their teens are not prepared for sexual activity. Above all, God’s will on the subject is clear. What to do?
Throwing our hands in the air isn’t the answer. Neither is wringing them. Here are seven simple suggestions:
1. Talk openly to your kids. Refusing to talk about it leads to feelings of shame or embarrassment, about which there should be no shame or embarrassment.
2. Help them understand both beauty and boundaries. The beauty of God’s gift and the boundaries in which He placed it.
3. Lead them away from media influences that blur those boundaries. Don’t be afraid to turn off programming that fosters fornication regardless of popularity.
4. Provide opportunities for them to be with other young people whose parents seek moral purity.
5. Trust but verify. It’s not that you don’t trust your kids; it’s that you don’t trust the devil.
6. Prov. 1-7. Read it with your young people.
7. Teach your boys how to treat a young lady. Teach your daughters how they should be treated. Then show them how, in the way you treat their mother or father.
P.S. Don’t give up or give in. There is too much at stake.
Wilson Adams
via The Gospel Power
March 2015