Navigating Through the World as a Teenager in 2006
By Guest Columnist David Sonderby
A mere four percent of Christian teens will continue their walk with Christ as they enter adulthood.
This was how it was estimated in the a recent New York Times report , and it doesn’t particularly come as a surprise to me.
In a culture filled with wrong motives of self-gratification and fornication of the mind, body, and soul, the majority of this doomed country draws the innocence from the young sheep of the flock.
We now live in a culture based upon majority rules; a country that bases its laws on the rulings of an opinion rather than that of Truth. In such a twisted society, how is there any way to judge from truth and deceit, and how easy is it to buy into these lies?
The answer is this: EASY. Believe in the majority over the minority. The youth are looking up to icons, wanting to be someone. They want a future, to make their life mean something.
But the majority seems to tell them that life means nothing. Life is an endless top spinning with no absolutes; with screaming sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll--spinning a theory of relativity to self--basing it on one’s own perception of things.
This is the day the Lord hath made; he calls the hours his own.
Let heaven rejoice, let earth be glad, and praise surround the throne.
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I pray that God, who gives hope, will bless you with complete happiness and peace because of your faith. And may the power of the Holy Spirit fill you with hope. Romans 15:13
David Sonderby is a first-year student at Murrietta Bible College.
Yet His..story has much to say about this Majority over the Minority. Riddled throughout not only scripture, but also through secular history, the Majority has not always been the absolute correct path.
So it is no wonder so many teens are becoming distracted from the path of Christ. In a culture controlled spiritually by evil, a young mind is going to see the path of the ‘successful’ and follow.
Jesus said in Matthew 7:13-14* "You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate wide for the many that choose the easy way. But the gateway to life is small, and the road is narrow, and only a few ever find it.” (NLT)
What else can be deduced but that our culture promotes the easy way out, the quick pleasure, the absolute satisfaction of your flesh, and the cheapest way to do it. From the majority comes the ‘relative truth’ of opinion, and even straightforward Bible thumping is irrelevant to the brainwashed young mind that trusts in relativism.
I hate to point this out as well, but as the New York Times article stated, many teens come from troubled homes, especially in America. Most children growing up in Christian homes see their parents and watch their actions, and take note of how they live their lives. When it comes to the point where they make the choice for their own lives, it is often based on the actions of the parents. If the children have parents that just "play church," and don’t truly believe in walking the walk, then why would they want to follow some fake religion that puts restrictions on the crazy life America tells you to live?
As for the falling away from Christ, that’s the choice of the teen. Some choose their pride over humbleness. But those choices are influenced so much by television, the lure of pleasure; but even more is that of a father, of a mother.
I grew up in a "split-religious home:" half Catholic, and half Christian, and because of the differences, neither could agree to go to church with the other, so I was never introduced into the fellowship as a child. Eventually I denied God entirely, although I didn’t so succumb to the pulls of sex, drugs, and alcohol, I did fall into a pit of depression. It took the Lord’s favor to restore my joy.
At age 16 I got saved. It seemed that there was little change during those first months--maybe a better, more positive attitude. Eventually there were behavioral changes. I slowly I stopped cussing, started going to church more, got rid of my garbage music, started going to church a lot more, and just had fun in fellowship.
But the one impediment to my growth was not necessarily a girl, but ‘dating’. Now what the world calls dating is no doubt from the pit of hell, a façade used to reap the benefits of a marriage without the commitment or security. But ‘dating’ for me simply took my eyes off the cross and onto someone else, obstructing the growth that was in store for me.
Through all this though, I know my mother was praying for me. In the depths of my depression, I had ran away, cut myself, and definitely had thoughts of suicide. And once my mom found out, I know she was praying for me; for God’s will to be done through all of it, and for me to find Him and to be free from it all.
My call now is to you parents. Your sons and daughters look up to you, even if they don’t show it. Live at home like Christ is with you, because if you’re fake, your children will see it. Know that the pull of this world is strong, and they may fall away for a period of time, but prayer is always the best thing you can do. I can say from experience that without the prayers of my mother, who knows were I would be? I fell away for two years because I felt the pull of the world. My ambition brought me down, and I never achieved the standards I set for myself because of it. But behind it all was a sinner praying for me. Her example wasn’t the greatest, my rebellious spirit would barely listen to take out the trash, but she prayed for me, and now I’ve fallen in love with my maker. Parents, don’t stop praying.
David and some members of his San Diego youth group are photographed on at a recent baptism.
David gives glory to the Lord and a praying mother for delivering him from the depths of depression and thoughts of sucide. He was saved at age sixteen.
