Think About it -- Don’t Brush off Issues With Youth

Resources Think About it -- Don’t Brush off Issues With Youth
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Faith Based Security NetworkFaith Based Security Network

Dec 21, 2024

In April of this year an 18-year-old was arrested in Idaho the day before he allegedly planned to attack Coeur d'Alene area churches. The FBI says he planned to move from church to church, killing multiple people at each one, until being caught up with and killed.

On 12/16 a 15-year-old a girl with troubled familial issues killed 2, then herself at a Christian School in Madison, WI.

I recently spoke at an event in Connecticut and had the opportunity to hear the Assistant Police Chief of Yale University (Von Narcisse) speak as well. Narcisse spoke of how the tendency for crime hasn’t changed that much. What has changed are the tools and methods.

“The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants….” (Socrates; Greek philosopher who died 399 B.C.)

“…a fearful multitude of untutored savages… the morals of children are tenfold worse than formerly.” (Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury 1801-1805 British politician, philanthropist, and social reformer.)

My own generation deservedly had our own criticisms. The title of a 2017 book (by Bruce Cannon Gibney) states; “A Generation of Sociopaths: How the Baby Boomers Betrayed America.”

As teenagers, many of us were over-competitive in sports, wild hunters, getting into myriad troubles; winning, skinning and sinning our way through our youth.

Think About it

It is popular in our over-analytical culture to consider any judgment of youthful troubles as the fault of the accuser by bringing up the long history of commentary on the troubles of youth.

Paul told Timothy, “Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” [i]

There are many clinical studies confirming the issues of neurologic development in teens. It is indisputable. At the same time, we have an entire social agenda forcing us to accept children’s ideas of what sex (or even species) they are. That's absurd!

I am not saying all youth are criminals. There is however, a long history of poor judgement by youth. It may not be more prominent today, but the tools and tactics are more dangerous than ever.

It isn’t wrong to take youth issues in your church seriously.

[i] 2 Timothy 2:22 (NIV)

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