Our teenaged sons and daughters are under attack. A sexual attack. When they open their email images of copulating men and women attack them. Hidden messages saying that it is all right to have sex outside of marriage attack them through the TV shows they watch. And many parents are oblivious to this.
Recent surveys indicate that most teens lose their virginity before they graduate from high school. Many more have intimate sexual experiences such as oral sex even if they do not have actual sexual intercourse. These are not just non-Christian teens; they also come from Christian families. We must realize that our own children are not immune from the world’s influence in regards to sex, deacons’ and shepherds’ children included.
Many parents believe that their children are sexually pure simply because they attend church regularly and are well behaved. They do not realize that the youth culture is saturated with sex; times are different from when they grew up. Their children fall into sexual sin not because they are bad but because they are weak. Even pastors and priests succumb to temptation. How can teens, running high on hormones, survive without their parents’ protection?
Parents should provide protection for their children. They may complain that their parents are interfering with their lives, but deep in their hearts they will appreciate it. In fact, they often resent it more when parents do not provide guidance and protection. When they grow up, children from stricter families usually appreciate their parents more than those from more liberal ones.
I recommend that parents do the following to help provide a protection shield for their children:
1. Place TVs and computers in the living room or other common areas so that you can monitor what your children are watching. Do not allow your children to have their own TVs or computers in their room.
2. Make sure that a parent is home when children come back from school. Teens commit sexual sins most often between 4 and 6 PM, after children get back from school and before parents come home from work.
3. Let your children actively participate in weekend church activities. Some parents want their children to stay home and study even on weekends. But it’s rare that teens actually study on weekends. Parents may think their children are studying when they are quiet in their room but it’s likely that they are playing computer games or instant messaging.
4. Pay attention to what your children’s Youth Pastor or Sunday School teachers say about them. When they make negative remarks about their children parents often get upset. Please don’t. They are not even telling everything they know about your children. Ask questions and get help from them. As much as they may want to, they can’t protect your children. Only parents can.
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