Jess Whitlock
Many of us recall entire episodes of the Andy Griffith Show, by one phrase, i.e., “kerosene cucumbers.” In one episode a hobo was telling Andy that he should just let Opie “decide for himself” what was best. Andy’s home spun wisdom aligned with the Scripture. Andy replied:
No, I am afraid it won’t work that way. You can’t let a young’n decide for himself. He’ll grab at the first flashy thing with some shiny ribbons on it. Then, when he finds out there is a hook in it, it’s too late! Wrong ideas come packaged with so much glitter that it is hard to convince them that other things might be better in the long run. All a parent can do is say ‘wait and trust me’ and try to keep temptation away.
Abortion? I was a substitute teacher in a Texas high school. I taught that life begins at the moment of conception (Luke 2:21). I had quotes from medical doctors and medical text books, besides. A young lady, a high school Senior, reported me to the principal. The next day I was summarily fired.
Dancing? A preacher presented a lesson on the evils of dancing. A mother and father met with the preacher in his office. He studied with them the “works of the flesh” (Gal. 5:19-21). They argued there was nothing wrong with their teenage daughter attending the dances. A few months later they were back in his office with tears in their eyes. Their daughter was pregnant.
Drugs? The body of the Christian is not to be brought under the power of any (1 Cor. 6:12). The teenage babysitter had started with marijuana, but she had moved on to harder drugs. The parents came home and found her spaced out of the couch. They looked for their baby boy. They found him in the oven, he was not alive. The girl had thought she was basting a turkey.
Gambling? Someone shouts “You cannot find gambling in the Bible!” Did you look at the foot of the cross where Jesus died? (John 19:24). Gambling has created a lazy society in America. Gambling is a sinful vice.
Sodomy? In the beginning God made them male and female (Gen. 1-2; Matt. 19:4-5). A man lying with a man or a woman lying with a woman is sin, nothing more, nothing less, and nothing else. My late friend and brother in Christ, Dub Mowery said: “In the beginning God created them Adam and Eve; not Adam and Steve.”
Immodest apparel? Paul taught that the woman was to be adorned modestly (1 Tim. 2:9-10). Jesus taught that it was sinful for the man to look upon the woman in a lustful way (Matt. 5:27-28). David may not have sinned with Bathsheba if she had been more careful about where she bathed (2 Sam. 11). We all must abstain from dressing with evil’s appearance (1 Thess. 5:22).
Pornographic TV, computers, movies, etc.? It is good that we teach our littles ones to sing: “Be careful little eyes what you see…be careful little ears what you hear…” The world is filled with lewd and lustful living on every level (Rom. 1:26-32; Gal. 5:19-21). Parents and grandparents must be ever watchful of those things that are paraded before our children day by day. How much time does our youth spend with television, computers, smart phones and movies? Now, how much time is spent with God’s Holy Word?
Tobacco? We are to present our bodies as a “living sacrifice” (Rom. 12:1-2). Do we control our habits, or do our habits control us? Tobacco is a major cause of cancer, and patients are missing mouths and tongues, etc. due to tobacco. I once visited a man about every month. Due to cigarettes he had lost most of his lower jaw. The only way he could breathe was through a tube inserted at the base of his neck. Frequently when I visited, he would insert a cigarette in that tube and “light up!” Do not tell me there is no addiction to tobacco.
The list goes on into infinity…
