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Dripping Springs Weekly Bulletins
The Great Challenge
I thought it was a challenge to be a parent in the 60’s and 70’s, but in many ways that was a “piece of cake” compared to today. Back then it was long hair, short skirts, hippies and protests. Today, it is…well, maybe it isn’t so different after all. But with Hollywood’s influence expanding exponentially, with the Brittany Spears’ crew being today’s “role models” for teen girls, and with the increase of sexual experimenting becoming so common—it scares me to see the challenges parents are facing today.
Movies and TV commercials are telling all who will listen that flesh and sex are all that counts, in life and in sales. Parents are responsible to help children keep their equilibrium.
Christians have been given a great responsibility in teaching Christian youth. Not only about “doctrine,” but also about personal relationships, being responsible for their actions, and biblical ethics—right and wrong.
Years ago I taught a class for parents, emphasizing their role in this process. Having little wisdom of my own, I gave them what I had and what I gained from others, hoping they could build on it. I believe those thoughts are still useful for today.
Make rules, and stick to them. Throughout the Bible, God and His prophets revealed rules for life, both ethical and spiritual. Parents are wise to do the same for everyday living, and then enforce them. It is one thing to be “flexible”, but quite another to ignore the rules. Life in any society requires respect for others. Parents, start early to emphasize the need for keeping the rules, yours and God’s.
Take control of your home. Our children need to learn early that parents are in control. The Bible says, “Children, obey your parents,” not the other way around, Ephesians 6:1. The only way that can be perverted is for parents to abdicate their role. As they mature, give them input into family affairs, but parents—you must take control!
Give your children some responsibilities. At some point in their youth they must learn to be responsible for some elements of the home. No, they may not like to take the garbage out, or to mow the lawn, but they become a real part of the family when they have certain daily chores they must do. The quickest way for children to feel isolated from the rest of the family is for parents to fail to entrust them with some work that contributes to the quality of their home.
Let your children make some mistakes. Yes, you must be quite selective in this matter, but children learn by their own mistakes just as adults learn by theirs. Some are more serious than others, but if they are to learn the lessons of life they must experience the consequences of their actions. If that seems harsh, remember that eventually they will learn this way, and it is much better if we guide them through the process.
Make your home a place that welcomes their friends. Just take a look at what the world provides today. Not encouraging, is it? Why not make your home a place where your children want to be? Even if you have to build another room on the back of the house, the price of it and a ping-pong or pool table will be money well spent. The world will not provide what your children need. If you want to keep them out of trouble and within your supervision, then do whatever it takes to make their friends feel so welcome that they want to come to your house. Even those dreaded video games, properly chosen, can be a positive choice compared to the alternatives. Give them some space plus some wise oversight. You will never regret it.
Don’t be afraid to listen to them. Kids are pretty smart, and they deserve to be heard and have input in the family today. By now you know that the answers to a lot of our problems are hard to come by, but if our children are ever going to make something of themselves, someone must talk and listen to them. Why not you, Mom and Dad?
Discipline wisely. The absence of discipline indicates an absence of genuine love, Hebrews 12:6, but if it is to be done, you will have to do it. Make the punishment fit the “crime,” and don’t be afraid to enforce those rules. The boundaries must be understood and respected. Show them you love them with discipline.
Show them the joys of being a Christian. The “fruit of the Spirit” includes “joy,” Galatians 5:22. But life often causes us to forget that joy, and that will not help your children. If being a child is nothing but “don’ts” and drudgery, we are already losing the battle we most desperately need to win. Make your home one that is characterized by happiness and joy.
Learn how to say “no!” It’s easy to think children won’t love you if you tell them “no,” but you cannot “buy” their love. They must learn that they cannot have everything they want. It may be the toughest to teach, but it is the lesson they must learn and the lesson that will serve them well all their years.
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“I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him,”
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"I Had An Abortion"
Jennifer Baumgardner’s life will never be the same. Since her days in college she has been a pro-abortion activist. She relishes the opportunity to protest against pro-life advocates. She hates religion, Christianity in particular, and loves to mock and ridicule the “mental midgets” that follow such foolishness. Yet, these principles will not make her stand out in the annals of time. No, her fame comes from a T-shirt.
In recent years, pro-life organizations have been trying to warn women about the mental, emotional and even physical dangers of abortion – dangers pro-abortionists have tried to play down and even deny. A few months ago, Jennifer Baumgardner became fed up with the parade of women who regretted having an abortion. So she designed a T-shirt which proudly proclaims, “I had an abortion.”
The shirt has ignited a moral firestorm. The pro-life camp views the shirt as an attempt to mock those women hurting from their abortions. Some pro-abortionists see the shirt as an unnecessary catalyst to heated debate. Other pro-abortionists think the shirts help break down the societal stigma of abortions.
What does God think about Baumgardner’s fashion sense? Abortion kills God-created life. God hates “shedding of innocent blood,” Proverbs 6:17. Who is more innocent than the child slain before he is born? God hates abortion.
Anything people do to promote abortion is also abhorred by God. Baumgardner and Planned Parenthood (the international organization dedicated to legalizing abortion) disregard God’s will as they promote their shirts and other products. They bask in their clever ideas and pro-abortion schemes. But what if their shirts told the whole story? Would they be as proud and willing to wear similar shirts?
How about a shirt proclaiming, “I murdered my baby” or “I had my child killed”? These carry the same meaning as “I had an abortion.” For the abortion doctor, Baumgardner could design a shirt saying, “I kill babies,” or “Hitman for the womb.”
For women who had late term partial birth abortions, a shirt could read, “I had my baby partially delivered, stabbed in the back of the head and its brains sucked out with a vacuum tube.” For those whose abortions were botched, the shirt could read, “My doctor botched my abortion, so he killed the baby after it was born.”
These shirts will not make the new Fall line up. However, these will be the sins branded on the souls of those who support and promote abortion.
Christians everywhere need to unite in a vocal outcry against all sin, including abortion. Through prayer, teaching and encouragement, Christians can change a culture of death into one that respects life – all life. The time to sit back and hope abortion goes away is long past. The time to stand up for righteousness has come.
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