My son just celebrated his 13th birthday over the weekend. I'm so thankful he's my son. He loves the Lord, he's fun to be with and creative and smart -- and I'm not just saying all that because I'm his mom. He also plans to start a Bible study at his school this fall (please keep that in prayer :) ), something that hasn't been done for a long time, and would love to serve on a missions trip. He's a really nice brother in Christ as well as my son.As I was sharing about his birthday with some people at a church, I was reminded of a very sad habit we have as a culture -- that of degrading teens and speaking badly about them.
One person said they felt sorry for me because I had a teen now, several said "uh-oh" or "look out now." One man even said "the hormones are raging so it's best to just lock him in a box until he's 20 and feed him through a tube."
As believers I think we should be careful of how we speak of people. Our words can have such a powerful effect. I see that when I speak well about people, that their spirits are lifted and I see the opposite when I speak badly, their spirits are crushed. God has given us the ability to bless and curse with our tongues.
James 3:9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. 10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.
Somehow it has become acceptable even in Christian culture to speak badly about teens. I can't think of any other people group that people speak so badly about. What if someone said "uh-oh, you're in for trouble you have an Asian in the house" or "oh i feel sorry for you, you have a fat person in the house" or what if someone said "just lock her away until she's 90" if you had an 80-year-old in the house? Of course this would be awful to say such things. And it is equally awful to say such things about teens.
Our teenage brothers and sisters in Christ are part of the same body as us. And there are several passages in the Bible thath show God's value of teens also, and give us hints of what our attitude should be.
1 Timothy 4:12Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. 13Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. 14Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you.Most of you reading are elder to teens -- maybe not church elders by position, but as their elder brothers and sisters in Christ we are to pray for teens, lay hands on them if we're led, and impart to them the gifts and encouragement that we received from our elders in Christ. Rather than speaking curses or negative things, let's seek the Lord for how we can best encourage teens and our other brothers and sisters in Christ.
And let's not look down on teens because of their youth! Let's allow them to teach us by their example of life lived by faith just as we can be an example to them.
1 Samuel 16:7 But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."Samuel was attracted to the mature, strong elder brother of the family, but God had chosen young David, at that time a teen, to be king over His people. God looks at the heart, so let us do the same, not judging with our words or our minds or our hearts as a reaction toward someone's age, but allow God to show us the beautiful work He is doing in someone's heart.
Joel 2:28 "And afterward,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your old men will dream dreams,
your young men will see visions
The Spirit is poured out on ALL people, young men old men, and sons and daughters -- I expect some sons and daughters are teens. Let's not miss the prophecies and wisdom and revelation and fruit that God is pouring out on teens but respect and love them as our precious brothers and sisters in Christ.
I just want to add my experience as a music teacher -- I can think of so many awesome people I got to know and spend time with who happened to be teenagers at the time-- one had a heart to learn guitar to lead worship, several in one family make up most of the worship team at one church i attend, a youth group from another church did a service project in mexico. The youth in my life really encourage me to keep my passion for the Lord, my grief when I see suffering, my intensity in my determination to serve the Lord and my hope for the future and desire to impact it for the Lord. Thank You Lord for the teens in the body of Christ and in our communities. Bless them and let them know how beautiful they are to You and to us as their brothers and sisters in Christ I pray in Jesus name, amen
