Something To Do --- Some Place To Go
To some people this article will be "old fashioned," or "old hat"; while some may think I have gone completely crazy. However, I believe that it deals with a basic problem in society and in the church. Please read these scriptures and see if they have an application in my remarks which follow:
Eph. 6:1 — "Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this right."
Prov. 22:6 — "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it Lam 317 — "It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth."
ES 8:4 — "And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord."
1 Tim. 5:14 — "I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house...."
Titus 2:4-5 — "That they may teach the younger women to be sober, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed."
1 Tim. 5:8 — 'But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel."
From these and many other passages we learn that young people are to grow up into responsible people. The young men MUST prepare to provide for their own house. The young women are to prepare to assume the responsibility as a wife and mother, parents are charged with the responsibility of "training" the children in the way they should go. They must "bring up" in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." Therefore, "It is good for a man that he bear the yoke (have responsibility) in his youth." Too many young people never have any duties to perform. They are not given any TRAINING for the basic things they will face in life. Theirs is a life of fun and frolic, devoid of responsibility. The common complaint of the modern teen ager is, "There is nothing to do and nowhere to go." Where this is the case, we may be sure that the parents are failing in their duties and the teenager is being cheated out of the opportunity to prepare himself to face life as an adult.
There are many things to do and places to go. In fact, these things MUST be done if the young person is to develop into the type of adult pictured in the Bible as pleasing to God.
The period of life known as the "teens" should be used to "grow up." The activities of these years should establish in the person those qualities and characteristics which God demands of His people. If this is not done, the "teen" years have been wasted and leaves the person immature and unstable. Industry, thrift, dependability and a sense of responsibility are some of the qualities which should be developed in the teen years. Respect for, and the ability to "get along with," others should have been acquired. I fear that with too many young people life is just one party after another; one thrill after another. They seem to think that their parents owe them entertainment. (Some entertainment and recreational activities are necessary.)...But the idea that the parents, church or world owes young people entertainment and recreational facilities is detrimental to the youth of the land. The emphasis should be reversed. The young people owe the world something. They owe their time talents and energy. Unless they utilize these to make the world better, they will have become delinquents. Teenagers should accept some of the responsibilities that their parents have been shouldering for years. Not only does this relieve the parents, but it gives actual experience and training to the youth. I'm sure that you are wondering when I am going to tell you what there is to do and places to go. I shall list a few that will stand you in good stead throughout life.
The young man could go home and mow the lawn, wash the car, paint the house, fix or repair things that may be broken. Help Dad in whatever way you can. Get a job for after school and school vacations. Study your lessons. Work around the church building. Visit the sick. Attend all the services of the church. Do personal work. Do things for those who are unable to do for themselves. Read your Bible and some good books. Now get a good hold: help your mother with the house work. (Yes, that is right. You may need the experience since you likely will marry some girl whose mother has not taught her how to do these things.)
The young lady should go home and learn how to cook, clean house, wash and iron, sew, care for younger children, and how to be a good wife and mother. She should study her lessons, read her Bible and other good books. Attend all the services of the church and participate in whatever work might be outlined by the church. She should visit the sick, help care for children, and whatever else might be needed to assist the sick. Take a Red Cross "Nurses Aid Training Course." She should prepare herself to go into the buisness world and make a living for the family in case of illness or death of her husband.
Young people should, with the permission of parents, engage in scriptural and wholesome types of recreational and social activities. However, these should be limited lest the young people get the idea that life is "one big lark."
Young people should be taught to enjoy doing the things I have mentioned because they will have to do them throughout life. I am persuaded that this is the reason so many people are discontent and unhappy in life. They are forced to do things that they never did before. They look upon the duties and responsibilities of life as a burden to be born, a drudgery to endure. The adjustment is just too great for many to make. Broken homes and ruined lives are the result. On the other hand, if young people were taught to assume the duties, and discharge the responsibilities of life cheerfully, much suffering could be avoided. Playboys and glamour-girls do not make a secure marriage and a happy home.
Yes, there are plenty of places to go, and there is much to be done. It is the duty of parents to train their children to go to the proper places and to do the right things. This is what parents owe their children. God help both parents and children to discharge their duties and responsibilities to one another.
— 116 Seaview Dr., El Cerrito, California