Sunday Sermons
The Days of Your Youth
The days of your Youth
“Rejoice, young man, during your childhood, and let your heart be pleasant during the days of young manhood. And follow the impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes. Yet know that God will bring you to judgment for all these things” (Ecclesiastes 11:9).
God certainly wants young people to make the most of their youth, and yet to do so in such a way that there are no regrets; that their decisions will stand the scrutiny of God’s judgment. This is a lesson directed to young people and their parents and grandparents as to how the years a youth should be spent.
Establish Good Habits
The Bible says that concerning Josiah, “For in the eighth year of his reign (when he was 18) while he was still a youth, he began to seek the God of his father David” (2 Chronicles 34:3). The Bible contains the names of various young people who at an early age made a definite decision to have a godly life (Daniel 1:8; Acts 16:1). Habits that are established early in life are much easier to observe; the opposite is true as well. Bad habits which are started early in life are very difficult to break as one becomes older. This is one reason why the Holy Spirit exhorts young people to “Remove vexation from our heart and put away pain from your body” (Ecclesiastes 11:10). “The freshness of youth with its unimpaired vigor of the body, which makes joy taste all the sweeter, is but of short duration---Bad attitudes and the misuse of the body can make any enjoyment difficult or impossible”(Leupold p. 272). “That which would rob youth of good times, pleasant days, happy memories, and general physical and mental/spiritual happiness is to be avoided” (Kidwell p. 272). There are a good number of people who cannot enjoy a good portion of their life, because of all the bad choices they made while young, “Lest you give your vigor to others, and your years to the cruel one; lest strangers be filled with your strength, and your hard-earned goods go to the house of an alien; and you groan at your latter end, when your flesh and your body are consumed; and you say, ‘How I have hated instruction! And my heart spurned reproof’” (Proverbs 5:8-12). Before you yield to a temptation, seriously contemplate the price of now having this additional problem and burden for the rest of your life. Before you yield to self-pity, anger, laziness, selfishness, pride—consider the price of those things.
Memorize Now
“How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Thy word…Thy word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against Thee” (Psalm 119:9,11).
In modern educational circles a common attitude is that memorization or repetitious drilling is a waste of time, yet for generations children learned through this process. To this day, the things that I really remember from school, such as the ability to type and the multiplication tables were learned through the process of continual drilling and repetition. William Bennett cites an example where a third grade class spent months building a Japanese garden. The teacher gave assurances that building the garden required “real-life” math skills. The problem was that later a conscientious fourth-grade teacher was frustrated in the continual work of reviewing the multiplication tables that the children were supposed to have mastered in the third grade. He noted that pure math problems are essential because in the end math’s domain is one of pure thought. Now, when you are young, is the best time to commit vast amounts of building-block knowledge to memory because this knowledge will be the key by which you will be able to correctly interpret and comprehend all other subjects. There are many things that you will simply have to memorize, and certain things are not just picked up, but rather they are only learned by repetition, such as the books of the Bible, the location of verses, who wrote a book, when was it written, and what the book contains? In addition, the time to learn a second language is when you are young, and is a skill that one can use in evangelism.
Take Charge of your own Education
We live in a society where many social scientists are experimenting with the educational system to the detriment of young people. In education “developmentalism” is the idea that each child develops in natural stages at his or her own pace, and that learning should never be forced lest the child is damaged. The problem with this ideology is that learning takes effort and does not simply happen naturally. Children, just like adults, can become lazy and need to be pushed (Hebrews 5:11-14). Jesus even corrected His disciples for not comprehending what He was teaching (Matthew 16:7-11). “Discovery learning” is the trendy idea that children learn best by discovering knowledge for themselves rather than reading something out of a textbook or taking down what a teacher says. The problem is when this becomes the main way children learn academic lessons, for there is not enough time in life for people to learn everything they need to know simply on their own. Secondly, a lot of things one “discovers” for oneself turn out to be wrong. In addition, one needs to be aware of the agenda behind how you are being taught. Sadly, in some schools and many colleges students are not being given an objective and well-balanced view of history, especially Western civilization. Some textbooks even seem to make a conscious effort to slight the achievements of the West. You need to aware of what you are not learning, that you should be learning. For a list a books that you should be reading and events in history that one should understand see The Educated Child, William J. Bennett. Most importantly choose literature that is character building and educate yourself in the discipline of godliness (Proverbs 1:7; 2 Timothy 2:15; 1 Timothy 4:8).
Seek the wisdom of the aged
“A gray head is a crown of glory; it is found in the way of righteousness” (Proverbs 16:31).
Do not merely put up with parental instruction or advice, but rather demand it! Bennett notes, “Lest we become complacent about the value of our children learning history, we should recall what C.S. Lewis wrote in The Screwtape Letters, as the devil Screwtape urged his nephew and protégé Wormwood to cultivate in men a disdain for the past. ‘Since we cannot deceive the whole human race all the time’, the devil says, ‘it is important to cut every generation off from all the others; for where learning makes a free commerce between the ages, there is always the danger that the characteristic errors of one may be corrected by the characteristic truths of another’” (p. 195). I need to seek the wisdom of the aged, for they faced all the same temptations that I will face (1 Corinthians 10:13). I need to learn from history, because I am doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past if I do not learn from them now (Romans 15:4). The devil is still active and man still remains a sinner, therefore all the same battles will be fought over and over again by each new generation. When it comes to the question of why I should read some “old” book, Matthew Arnold noted, “We should offer all our children the best which has been thought and said”.
The Television Set
Television watching is like any other habit, the sooner you set into a proper routine, the better. Some recommend that during the school year, no TV on weekdays, and a limited amount (two-four hours) on the weekend. Some families use the “no television until homework and chores are finished”. Others insist that TV time equal reading time. In a survey of 4000 parochial school teachers, half stated that television and the media are the greatest obstacles to teaching morals to students. Remember, any media device is an open door to “the world” (1 John 2:15-17). Young people need to talk charge of their own morality and spiritual development. What is going to hinder you morally and what is going to strengthen you? What enhances sinful temptations and what sets them in their true light? Remember what the Psalmist said, “I will set no worthless thing before my eyes” (101:3).
Honor Mother and Father
“Honor your father and mother (which is the first commandment with a promise), that it may be well with you, and that you may live long on the earth” (Ephesians 6:2-3).
I have found the above Scripture to be true. There is a happiness and contentment that is gained when we honor our parents, and I have found that those who rebel and dishonor their parents are often miserable and frustrated people. Now is the time to spend time with your parents, to help them around the house, to build a good relationship with them. Now is the time to interview them and ask them all the questions you can think of, including questions about them and the past.
Ground yourself in the Scriptures and a meaningful prayer life
“If indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast” (Colossians 1:23; Hebrews 5:14).
Almost weekly we hear on the news about a young person who made a poor decision and often paid for that decision with their life. At an early age one needs to be able to tell the difference between good and evil, yet this is only complicated by the fact that many influential voices in our society are telling young people that evil is good and good is evil (Isaiah 5:20). In addition, in one’s youth very important things happen, such as the formation of one’s personality, one’s life perspective, whether one will serve God or not, the selection of a mate for life, a career choice, and so on.
Prepare for marriage and family
Young men need to prepare themselves to be strong spiritual leaders who will not bend when pressured by outside forces and the wills of their children (Ephesians 6:4). A man must learn that exercising discipline is a wholesome thing for children as well as hugging them children and extending compassion. A man must prepare himself to lead a wife, to listen to advice, but have the courage and vision to make the final decision. Young women need to observe others and see the value of investing in raising children (Titus 2:4-5), and a young woman needs the wisdom to select a husband who does not need to be raised by her.
Have adventures!
Before marriage and children, now is the time to pursue your interests (Ecclesiastes 11:9).
Mark Dunagan/Beaverton Church of Christ/503-644-9017
www.beavertonchurchofchrist.net/mdunagan@easystreet.com
