| OUR CHILDREN ARE OUR RESPONSIBILITY According to authorities, drug use among 12 to 17 year olds has doubled between the years 1992 and 1995. Crime has also significantly increased in some areas among the young. Some say it is because of the moral looseness in Washington. Others say it is the fault of the churches, the parents, Hollywood, TV, rock and roll music, and a host of other things. There is, indeed, corruption in government, especially in the current administration. Also, the people seem to reflect the morals of those in power over them. After all, they elected them, didn't they? Daniel 4:17 tells us that , "the most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it (the kingdom) to whomsoever He will, and setteth up over it the basest of men." Have you noticed this trend in governments? Not just ours, but internationally, also? That scripture is why I don't expect any relief from man's governments, regardless of which political party is in office. I expect them to get worse and worse right up until the end. But what about the parents? How could they be blamed for their children's faults? To the extent that we have not properly taught them. Today's children are growing up know-ing almost nothing about their Creator. And yet, look at what we are supposed to be doing: Deut. 6:1-9: Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which Yahweh your El commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land where ye go to possess it: (Are we doing, as a nation, Yahweh's Commandments today? I think not.) That ye might fear Yahweh your El, to keep all His statutes and His command-ments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all the days of thy life: and that thy days may be prolonged. (There is no fear of Yahweh today among our nation's youth. They hardly know anything at all about Him.) Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as Yahweh, El of your fathers hath promised thee, in the land that flows with milk and honey. Hear, O Israel: Yahweh our El is one Yahweh. And you shall love Yahweh thy El with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words which I command thee this day, shall be in thy heart. And you shall teach them diligently unto your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up. (People would think you insane, a certified religious nut, if they knew you practice this in today's "enlightened" world.) And you shall bind them for a sign upon your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. And you shall write them upon the posts of your house, and on your gates. See also Deut. 11: 18-21. Who among us does this? Not many, for sure. Instead, we too often let the world in-struct our children in its ways. We can't be bothered, it seems. After all, isn't the school sys-tem supposed to teach them? Yahweh spoke through Jeremiah the prophet, Jer. 10:2, "Thus saith Yahweh, Learn not the way of the heathen,...." But that is exactly what the schools teach. They teach god-less evolution, "values clarification," situation ethics (what is right for this situation might not be right for another), feelings (if you feel like it, then do it), "tolerance," which is another word for "acceptance" of what they proudly call "alternative lifestyles," or homosexuality. It is no wonder our children are confused. They want and expect proper guidance from their parents. They don't want the burden of having to decide major life-altering issues alone. They need and deserve the best we can do for them. Many parents apparently don't feel qualified to guide their children, yet they know something should be done. So they take (or send) them to church on Sunday morning, hoping someone there will give them the guidance they need. But Yahweh says the pastors have failed in their duty: Jer. 2:8, "The priests said not, Where is Yahweh? And they that handle the law knew me not: the pastors also transgressed against me, and prophets prophesied by Ba'al (Lord), and walked after things that do not profit." Yes, they that are supposed to "handle" the law of Yahweh smugly proclaim that His Eternal Law is "done away," and does not have to be obeyed today! Jer. 10:21,"For the pastors are become brutish, and have not sought Yahweh: therefore they shall not prosper , and all their flocks shall be scattered." As for Hollywood with its decadent, perverted out-pouring of filth and perversion for TV and the movies, plus its so-called music, all glorifying illicit sex and violence, it goes without saying that all this has a very negative effect upon our youth. To even suggest that watching hour after hour of pure trash will not affect anyone's mind, shows either abysmal ignorance or outright deceit. If advertisers didn't think that their commercials influence peo-ple to buy their product, would they spend millions of dollars to show them to you? Of course not! In like manner, program content also influences thought and behavior, especially in the young and impressionable - our children. What to do? Take control of your children. Teach them right from wrong. Teach them the 10 Commandments. Teach them that Yahweh loves them, that you love them, and His Commandments are for their good. Home school them if possible. If not possible, then an alternative might be a private school. Teach them to be wary of the world's glitter. David said, "I will set no wicked thing before my eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me." Do you suppose a TV set would qualify as a wicked thing? It depends on what is being shown on it, doesn't it? Know what your children are watching. Set them an example. Don't be afraid to turn the thing off when perversion is being exalted. Spend time with your family, particularly your children. This is the single most im-portant thing you can do for them. But it should be "quality" time. You may think just being in the house with them is enough. But if you are piled up in front of the TV watching football or the races, shushing your children if they dare ask a question, then that is not quality time. I saw a cartoon one time that stuck in my mind. There were two panels. In the first, a new father was holding his small baby, and saying, "Say daddy. Daddy, daddy. Come on, say Daddy!" In the second panel, the father was sitting reading his newspaper, and the boy, now about 7 or 8 years old, stood beside him. Dad was saying, "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy! Is that all you can say?" Let's treat our children, our grandchildren, or any children over whom we have some influence, with respect and love. Help show them the way. They are young and inexperienced, and need all the help they can get. Yahweh says children are a blessing He commands : Psalm 127:3-5; Lo, children are an heritage of Yahweh: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man, so are children of the youth. Happy (joyful) is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with (subdue) the enemies in the gate. Yahweh commanded man from the very beginning to be fruitful and multiply (Gen. 1:28), and replenish the earth. But if they grow up ignorant of the ways of Yahweh, ignorant of what He requires and expects of us, then they become a curse and not a blessing (Prov. 29:15). Remember, our children are OUR responsibility, whether we live up to it or not. Are your children a blessing, or a curse? Do you take credit (or responsibility) for what they are? Of course the time comes when they have to stand up and be responsible for themselves, but what they have been taught is a major factor in what they become. May Yahweh guide us as we teach and lead our children into adulthood. ~Frank Brown |