Tonight Paul White preached about something that has been bugging and challenging my life a lot lately. It is something everyone have, are, or will face. Its a matter of teenagers in society, and how they are underestimated so much.
Anyone who is around teenagers can see how lazy and selfish we have all become. I strongly believe that this is because families, friends, teachers, and such are hardly challenging teens. We are put to such low standards so often, that we ourselves become convinced easily that we can do enough to just get by.
But being followers of Christ we must hold ourselves to so much higher standers. It is not always easy to do so, and it was never promised to be easy. But we, as teens, always need to be conscience of the negative influences society can have on us. Keep the Lord constantly in your heart and mind, and remember that there are always people surrounding you that have experienced everything we are now, and they are always willing to talk and/or listen.
We studied, tonight, the example we have of Jesus in his teenage years (Luke chapter 2). I dont want steal all his words or anything so I'm going to just put the notes on here that i took, and i would like comments or anything, cuz I know many of us may have a hard time with this.
Like Jesus In Your Youth
Luke 2
-YOU NEED TO DECIDE whats really most important.
many young people find themselves just going through the motions and being at services because their parents have always made them. Why are you there? for yourself? If you had the option to sleep or go somewhere else Sunday, would worship be your choice of activity?
-YOU NEED TO ACCEPT the challenge of new responsibilities and opportunities.
Society often expects too little of teens, and are underestimated. Parents and older people often say that teens do not have the power to control their tongue, control their actions, or avoid sexual immorality. Prove them wrong. Take advantage of the opportunities on front of you. Get excited to study and learn God's word.
-YOU NEED TO START NOW seeking to increase your level of spiritual knowledge and understanding.
Get involved with older people in your life. Ask questions, study with them, they are a resource.
-YOU MUST EARN the trust of your parents.
Age is not an equation for trust. It is earned not matter how old. If you start now thinking you can get by without earning trust, how will you trust, or have your mate trust you in marriage?
-YOU MUST SEE THE VALUE in strengthening the relationship with God and others.
If you do not let yourself grow, take advantage of YOUR Bible classes, and ask yourself questions, your idea of christianity will become something you inherited instead of something you persued.
I agree - I think teens/young adults/kids step up when the people around them expect them to, but they don't bother trying when everyone expects them to be bad and lazy
I am seeing this already in my fourth grade class. They don't want to do more than what they HAVE to do. It is always..."how long does it have to be?" or "exactly how much do you want us to do?" I have even had parents complain that WE FOURTH GRADE TEACHERS are expecting too much from the children. GIVE ME A BREAK!!!! They will achieve what we expect, so we must have high expectations! By the way...I am so happy for you that you got in!!! Love you
Great thoughts! Sometimes these thoughts from one teenager to another are more powerful than from adult to teen. As a 47 year old mom of 3 boys, I have given my kids a lot of slack and not asked much of them because I wanted them to enjoy life while they were young. I hope that I didn't do a disservice to them by not "holding their feet to the fire". Boys especially are given a lot of responsibility when they leave home and get married for there is a lot of pressure in being the provider at home. Your post is a strong stand on personal responsibility to Christ and I thank you!
Good points sister! I am so proud of you! And it is so true...I actually see it in more and more adults as well. It's sad how little anyone really tries. It's just easier to make excuses or give up when things get hard!
