Raised By Culture

"Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." -Proverbs 22:6

Do you have any kids? I do not have children yet, but I have served in kids ministry long enough to know that children are both a blessing and a huge responsibility! (And they can also be a pain sometimes too!) But the Bible says that children are the greatest blessing. (Gen 17:6, 22:17; Deut. 7:14; 1 Sam 2:20; Ps 127:3) 

The fact that Proverbs 22:6 is true can be both good and bad. If a child is raised well, generally speaking, he or she will turn out alright. If he or she is brought up in an adverse environment, then there is a greater likelihood that the child may be at risk.
 
But what about situations where there is no parenting at all? We often hear reporting in the media about children with absent parents, latchkey kids where both parents work, parents who are neglectful and don't care; and the tragic stories about the children who become rebellious and deviant as a result. My teacher friends often say how much they are parenting in the classroom versus teaching, since these kids don't get the parenting at home. The parents are just too busy, and thus the kids lack direction ("Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he" Proverbs 29:18 KJV). Dr. Paul Hegstrom, author of Broken Children, Grown-Up Pain, says that most adult dysfunction is rooted in experiences that happen before the age of 9 years old. It's no wonder we have so much teen pregnancy, drug and alcohol addiction, and promiscuity, among other things.
 
And what does our culture say? Seventy-five percent of teenagers between the ages of 12 and 19 watch MTV.* What does it tell them? That promiscuity and early sexual activity are a normal part of life. That being sexual equates to love for a girl and for a guy, being degrading and having a derogatory sense of humor equals manhood and acceptance by his peers. All the while the music, media, and pop culture vendors of our society get richer and richer - all at our children's expense.
 
Does this make anybody else just a little irritated?
 
But do you know what? God is a Father to the fatherless, including to those whose parents are emotionally, physically, or spiritually absent. And if there is anything we can do to help a fatherless generation, it is to help connect them to the heart of a Father who knows and understands their pain like no one else by praying for them, understanding them, being good examples for them, and most importantly, by loving them.



*http://www.mediafamily.org/facts/facts_mtv.shtml