"So that's where that verse is found," decried one of our Life Together group members as we read 1 Corinthians 15:33, "Bad company corrupts good morals," during our study time. They went on to expound about a situation with a relative's teenage son. The teen years have often be called the "turbulent years" because of all the challenges teens (and their parents) face in this phase of their lives. It's tough growing to adulthood. Teen years spread into college life and young adulthood. Many of the decisions and choices made during this time will last a lifetime or at least affect one for a lifetime.
The psalmist in Psalm 1 gives some of the most practical advice found in scripture for anyone of any age. But I think it is especially pertinent to young adults, especially teens. The psalmist says "Blessed or Happy or Content or Satisfied is the person who doesn't listen to the advice or urging of wicked, corrupt, worldly people." He says that the smartest thing to do to get the best out of life is to listen to, meditate on, study God's instructions on how to do life from God's Word, the Bible.
God's ways may not always be the easiest to follow, but they do make the most sense in the long run, even if they don't understand the why at the beginning. A young college student showed up in my office on spring break very distraught. She began to tell me her sad story of getting caught up in college life and we're not talking the academic side. She met a guy and you can guess where this story is going. Partying, sex, pregnancy, abandonment, abortion. This young lady was so ridden with guilt she was flunking out of school. Her college major was Early Childhood Development. The classroom discussions and pictures of growing infants were more than she could bear. The rejection of a guy who only used her sexually and now the guilt of all her actions were smothering her.
Unfortunately it's not an unfamiliar story. I've heard it all too often or at least ones similar to it. The regret is always the same and the pain is always devastating. It's too late to go back an undo what's been done. Living with the consequences and the personal destruction remain. If I've heard it once, I've heard it a thousand times, "If only I had just listened to...." To whom? Friend, parent, teacher, pastor; it doesn't matter the person, it always comes back to God's teaching on the subject.
God is trying to protect us from ourselves. That's why He gives us His instructions on how to do life to get the best out of life. Focusing on His truths and hanging out with others who are focusing on His truths is a smart way to do life. The world is full of people who will be glad to lead you down paths that end in pain and destruction. Choosing your friends and associates wisely makes all the difference in the fullness of your life.
God, I want to walk down the path that brings the greatest fulfillment to my life. I know that is in you. I don't want to experience a spiritual or personal famine. I want to drink in your truths that I know will sustain me. Give me discernment in choosing my associates. Clarify your path and your ways through the Holy Spirit you placed within me.
No comments:
Post a Comment